Tears of Fire
by wildkat
Summary: The war between Draconians and Elves has come to a close. Voldemort has finally fallen, but how could he had been defeated by someone other than Harry? Maybe there are even loopholes in prophecies... You never do know... H
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter One  
  
"AHHHHH! NOOOO!"  
  
Harry Potter awoke, in a cold sweat, from one of his numerous nightmares. His scar was burning something fierce and it only did that when danger was near. In this nightmare, he was completely surrounded by black; everywhere he turned there was nothing. Then he heard his girlfriend, Hermione Granger, calling for him and he began to search for her. When her voice cut off in the middle of his name, he began to panic. When he finally found her, she was lying on her side, dead, and Voldemort was standing over her lifeless body.  
  
He got up, got out his invisibility cloak, and snuck into the fifth-year girls' dorm. He walked up to Hermione's bed, dropped the invisibility cloak, and looked down at her small form curled up in her bed. His love, Hermione, was just sound asleep in her bed and there was no sign of Lord Voldemort. Harry sighed in relief and gently kissed her forehead before taking her into his arms. Hermione stirred at the movement and slowly opened her eyes. When her cinnamon eyes met with Harry's intense green ones, she became worried at the look in them.  
  
Hermione had never before seen Harry so terrified and it alarmed her. The way he was holding her was if he was desperately clinging to her. Holding her as if convinced she would disappear in front of him. Harry was gripping her protectively, but not hard enough to hurt her. Hermione saw the concerned look in her love's eyes and gently kissed his cheek before curling against him and falling asleep once again. Harry sighed gently, convinced it was just a stupid nightmare, and put Hermione down.  
  
Hermione shivered from missing his warmth, so he covered her with her blankets. He put his cloak back on and went back to his bed and back to sleep. When he awoke and went down to the common room, Hermione was not there. Harry panicked for a second before realizing that Hermione had probably gotten up before he had awoken and went down to the Great Hall to eat breakfast. His theory was proven true when he arrived at the Great Hall, saw her there at her usual place, and sat next to her.  
  
"What was that about last night?" Hermione asked him as he sat down, concern written on her face.  
  
"I had a nightmare that Voldemort had killed you," Harry explained, "It was so vivid that I had to go make sure you were alright before I could try and sleep again."  
  
Hermione gave Harry a half hug from the side and Harry kissed her cheek response. Ron rolled his eyes at the display and Lavender giggled.  
  
"Hey Harry," Lavender began after Harry had started eating his breakfast, "Hermione wasn't the only awoken by your nighttime visit."  
  
Harry's face drained of color. "Who else?"  
  
"Oh just me, Pavarti, the entire fourth-year girls' dorm, Alicia, Fred, George-" Lavender said as she ticked them off her fingers.  
  
"Okay, okay," Harry hissed at her desperately, interrupting her, "I get the picture."  
  
Lavender giggled at the bright red that Hermione turned.  
  
"Hey Harry," Ron Weasley, Harry's other best friend since first-year besides Hermione, stated a few minutes later, "Why'd you-"  
  
* CLUNK! CRASH! SLAM! THUD! *  
  
Half the Great Hall jumped and turned to look at the Gryffindor table. All they saw was Harry Potter lying on the floor, on his side, out cold. Hermione and Ron were trying desperately to stop the blood flow from Harry's head. All the while the Gryffindor table looked on, fear on their faces. Two very angry redheads, the twins Fred and George Weasley-Ron's older brothers, were firing curses at Draco Malfoy, who was being protected by two of his fellow Slytherins, a.k.a. his bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
The clunk had been Harry's goblet hitting the table. The crash was his chair hitting the floor as he went backwards. The slam had been Harry's head against the Ravenclaw table, which was next to the Gryffindor table. Lastly, the thud was Harry's body hitting the floor. The whole hall, minus the Slytherin table, was cheering the twins on. Fred was about to give Draco a makeover into a Jackass and George was going to turn his blue, when a voice rang out across the Great Hall.  
  
"SILENCE!"  
  
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, stared down at them from the High Table. He stared at Draco from down his spectacles. He looked over at blood covered Hermione and Ron, and the still unconscious and badly bleeding Harry. He walked over to Harry, waved his hand, and watched calmly as the young wizard disappeared from sight and from Hermione's arms.  
  
"Where did you send Harry to?!" Hermione asked him frantically.  
  
"Where else, child, but the infirmary."  
  
As swift as a hurricane, Dumbledore changed emotions and turned on Draco.  
  
"What did you do to him?" he asked the Slytherin boy with a coldness in his voice.  
  
"I only used a simple curse on him," Draco replied, boasting, though it was a simple curse, "It was just a simple knockout curse. Who knew Potter was such a wimp."  
  
Dumbledore had a feeling that Draco was lying to him, but didn't press it any further. Instead he turned to the two bloodstained students.  
  
"You two can ease your minds and go see Harry now. I will send someone with clean robes to the infirmary. You are allowed to miss today's first class, but that is all."  
  
"Thank you sir," Hermione stated calmly before bolting out of the room with Ron close on her heels.  
  
The whole of the Great Hall was quiet, as everyone was awaiting Draco's sentence. Draco suddenly stood up with a smug look on his face.  
  
"Good riddance to Potter. Although I did have it poured in the little Mudblood's goblet. 'Oh help me, it's the dreaded Dragon's Breath Poison!' What a laugh!" Draco stated in a girlish voice, making fun of Harry, but no one was laughing, as all were too busy staring at Dumbledore, who had gone white as a sheet.  
  
Dragon's Breath Poison was the one thing that any wizard or witch feared more that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. A poison so potently deadly that it literally cooks the victim alive from the inside out. First signs of it is usually profuse sweating from the excessive heat. The symptoms vary so badly that the next thing you know their blood is boiling in their veins and then, in a snap, they're dead. Albus apparated right out of the Great Hall and into the Infirmary room, scaring all the occupants, save Harry, who was still unconscious.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Madame Promfrey let out a scream as Dumbledore appeared before her without warning.  
  
"Draco confessed to using Dragon's Breath Poison on Harry and he meant it for Miss Granger."  
  
"Surely you are joking Albus!" Madame Promfrey replied, color draining from her face, "How could a student get a hold of the ingredients for it."  
  
"Severus," Dumbledore replied, eyes narrowing, "Draco must have stolen the ingredients right from under Severus's nose."  
  
Hermione's cry jerked the two from their conversation. Harry was muttering under his breath, struggling, and he was sweating horribly.  
  
"What is he saying?" Ron asked as he helped hold Harry down.  
  
"Sonorous," Hermione spoke.  
  
"Blood of a Dragon, heart of a Lion, eyes of an Eagle, mind of a Griffin, and loyalty of a wolf. Evil is coming-evil is near. Run while you can-take only fear."  
  
Albus Dumbledore stopped dead in his tracks as he realized what Harry was saying.  
  
"Quietus."  
  
Madame Promfrey turned to Dumbledore, "What is that about Albus?"  
  
"I'm not sure Minerva," Dumbledore replied, "I'm not entirely sure, but I think it includes Miss Granger."  
  
Dumbledore exited the room and went to his office. There sat the pool of memories that Dumbledore kept in his cupboard. Dumbledore reached out and searched for a certain memory before peering into the silvery depths very deeply.  
  
* Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~ *  
  
James Potter looked up at Dumbledore.  
  
"Surely you jest Albus."  
  
"No, I'm afraid not James."  
  
"Harry will not become that!"  
  
"He will have the blood of a Dragon, James. He will have the heart of a Lion, the eyes of an Eagle, the mind of a Griffin, and the loyalty of a wolf. He will become the most powerful wizard this world has seen since Merlin."  
  
"My son will not become what you say!"  
  
"James, an evil lurks around the corners of our world that makes Voldemort weak compared to it. Harry will become the sole protector of this establishment and of the world. Harry, however will need his love and soul mate to overcome the darkness that is coming."  
  
"He will not fight!"  
  
"You cannot decide for him James!"  
  
"No, but I can sure as hell try!"  
  
* End Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~ *  
  
Dumbledore sighed as he sat back in his chair and absently stroked his beard. The prophecy written on Harry's sixth month was coming true. 


	2. Council of Great Powers

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters, as they belong to J.K. Rowling.  
{Dragon Speaking}  
: Eagle talking :  
* Wolf Speaking *  
- Lion Speaking -  
(Griffin talking)  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Hermione fretted over Harry's prone form. It has been a week since Draco had tried to poison her, but had gotten Harry instead, ending in Draco's permanent expulsion from the school. Of course his father, Lucius Malfoy, threw a fit, but with Draco deliberately trying to poison and kill a fellow student, he was immediately thrown out of the school.  
  
Hermione visited Harry every night before she slept. That was the only time that she could since she was not allowed to miss her classes. Something kept calling her back to him and that something would not let her be. That night, the night of the full moon, she felt something was wrong. When she went to visit Harry she got a great shock. His bed was empty and in his place was a note and that note was sitting in a pool of blood.  
  
She announced Harry's disappearance with a scream and then fainted. Hermione's scream alerted Madame Promfrey who immediately called Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore came in a puff of smoke as soon as he was called. All stared at the note as if it would go off like a well-timed bomb, but only Dumbledore himself noticed that it was addressed to him.  
  
To Albus Dumbledore,  
We decided that enough was enough. We've waited for the boy to come for years. Whatever it was that happened, he has been sent here. Tell the girl that he is alright and that he says he will miss her. He is to train with us, as promised Albus Dumbledore. You will not see him for a while.  
Yours truly,  
The Council of Great Powers  
  
Dumbledore looked up from the note.  
  
"He lives."  
  
He heard Hermione sob out of relief.  
  
"What is going on Albus?" Madame Promfrey asked Dumbledore, "I cannot have students disappearing from my infirmary without an explanation!"  
  
"Where did Harry go Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione asked the Headmaster frantically, "When will he be coming back?"  
  
"I cannot offer either you much of an explanation. All I can say is that young Harry is about to embark on a journey that would forever change him and the world as we know it."  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry Potter stared at the magnificent creatures before him. A large, black, female, dragon stared down at him with calculating eyes. A white wolf growled at him from the right while a griffin and a lion stared at him from the back. An eagle sat at the Dragon's massive feet. Harry felt as if he was under judgement for a crime that he had committed, but did not remember ever doing.  
  
{Come here on your own, small one?} The dragon asked him gently.  
  
"No-no ma'am," he replied, "I was sent here."  
  
(Then you must be the boy we were told would come. You are late.) the Griffin stated angrily.  
  
"Late?"  
  
: Yes, late. Why is the girl not with you? : the eagle asked him calmly.  
  
"Girl?"  
  
The dragon sighed exasperatedly, breathing hot air on Harry.  
  
- Didn't he tell you anything?! - the lion roared at him.  
  
"Who tell me what?"  
  
* Albus Dumbledore. He was supposed to tell you of your destiny before you were sent here. What is the last thing you remember before coming here? * The wolf asked him, as gently as the dragon had.  
  
"I was in the Great Hall. I noticed something weird about Hermione's drink. I heard Draco snickering and knew he'd done something to it. Risking humiliation or death, I switched my goblet with hers and drunk her pumpkin juice. It burned like acid down my throat and tasted like what rotten eggs would. I blacked out for a while and then I came here."  
  
{The one you call Draco poisoned you with something your kind call Dragon's Breath Poison. He had intentions of killing the girl.}  
  
"Draco!" Harry growled angrily.  
  
(Good!) the Griffin told him encouragingly, (Hold that anger! Use it to help you train!)  
  
"Train?"  
  
: It seems that we have much to teach you. Let's get started. :  
  
Harry nodded to the Eagle.  
  
"What do I call you?"  
  
(Silver Wing)  
  
* White Blizzard *  
  
- Fire Claw -  
  
{Night Fire}  
  
: Talon :  
  
"Okay. Now about the training..."  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Months passed slowly for both Harry and Hermione. Dumbledore was slowly growing more and more concerned for both. That night, the night of Christmas Eve, he looked up at the stars and sighed.  
  
"Fight well, live long, find love, survive. My advice to you Harry."  
  
Dumbledore wasn't the only one looking up at the stars, Harry's Godfather, Sirius Black, who had been informed about Harry by Dumbledore, was also looking at the stars.  
  
"Good luck, my Godson. I wish I could be there to help."  
  
There was a third person looking at the stars, but this was a sorrowful young woman known to all as Hermione Granger. As the clock chimed midnight, she lifted her head from her knees and looked up at the sky.  
  
"Happy Christmas Harry, wherever you are. I love you." 


	3. A Royal Return

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters, as they belong to J.K. Rowling.  
;~ Griffin (human) Speaking ~;  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Hermione Granger stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express. Here it was her sixth year and the wizard in her life, Harry Potter, had been gone for a year. Hermione had grown much in the year that Harry had been gone. Ron had changed a lot as well, but Hermione rarely spoke to him. In fact she rarely did anything but study, as she had done a complete three-sixty turn back to the way she was before she had fallen in love with Harry.  
  
Hermione stared, half-interested, at the sorting ceremony's ending. The Gryffindor house had eleven new members, Ravenclaw had five, Hufflepuff had six, and Slytherin had eight. Just as Dumbledore had said the magic words to started the feast, every candle in the room blew out, plunging the Great Hall into darkness.  
  
All the students started to panic and run when Dumbledore calmed them down. The panic came back quickly when the doors of the Great Hall blew open and every candle relit. A cloaked individual stood before them, smirking up at Dumbledore. The figure slowly reached up and removed his hood. In removing his hood, he revealed light brown hair, pointed ears, and chocolate brown eyes.  
  
"Greetings Salavan," Dumbledore greeted the figure casually, "What matter brings the Prince of the Elves here before us mortals?"  
  
"I came for my sister."  
  
Dumbledore's face went dark. "Why now do you choose to claim her? She has given up immortality and come as a simple witch. Why now must you come and drag her back to the world of immortals?"  
  
"You have no right to lecture me Old Man! I came for Hermione because father has requested her presence!"  
  
The entire hall turned toward Hermione, who was staring at the young man known as Salavan.  
  
"I-I can't be an elf!" Hermione exclaimed, replying, confused, "I'm a Muggle-born Witch!"  
  
"You wish!" Pansy Parkinsan yelled, "I always knew you weren't human!"  
  
The doors exploded open and a group of Death Eaters waltzed in. Dumbledore stood up to fight them, but the Death Eaters pointed their wands at the Headmaster.  
  
"Don't move you old fart," one hissed, "We've got you."  
  
;~ Actually, ~; said a cold and calculating voice from behind them, ;~ I've got you. ~;  
  
Half of the Death Eaters slowly turned around and came face to face with a full-grown Norwegian Ridgeback. It snorted and the Deatheaters looking let out a scream and apparated away. That left their five comrades behind to face an enraged, full-grown, Dragon.  
  
One happened to see it out of the corner of its eye. It tapped the commanding Death Eater, who was irritated at being bugged. The Commander turned, saw the dragon and that it had only four Deatheaters left. With a angry yell it apparated out of the room. The dragon snorted in disgust and anger, raising the temperature of the room a couple degrees.  
  
;~ And here I was hoping to have a challenge ~;  
  
The dragon saw Dumbledore and turned toward him. Immediately every one fo the teachers and the headmaster pulled out their wands. They pointed their wands toward the Dragon, which started glowing and then shrunk. When the light disappeared there stood a human in a cloak.  
  
"Hello Salavan," he stated coldly to the elf, "Bothering humans again? I thought I told your father, you, and the rest of the Elf race to leave we mortals alone."  
  
"You cannot tell my father-the King of Elves-nor I, what to do Griffin! I came for my sister!"  
  
"What sister!?"  
  
Salavan's hand shot toward Hermione.  
  
"That one goes nowhere!" Griffin growled unhumanlike, "Whether or not she is the Princess!"  
  
"She is going! I'm her brother and I say she has to!"  
  
"She has a name and a mind!" Griffin yelled back, anger in his voice, "Let her decide her own future!"  
  
Hermione smiled at this, but was confused about Griffin. He just seemed so familiar that it hurt her heart to look at him. She shook her head no in reply to leaving.  
  
"See Salavan, she answers and it is no. Leave!"  
  
"What thinks you can boss me around!?"  
  
"Are you forgetting who I am!?"  
  
"No!" Salavan replied, "I could care less though!"  
  
"That's it! I wanted to keep away! I wanted to keep her from getting hurt! You had to drag her into this!"  
  
"Open your eyes BOY!" Salavan thundered, "She was dragged into this when she was born!"  
  
"Leave Salavan! Tell your father to take his problems with the mortal world up with me! Leave before I am forced to kill you!"  
  
Salavan's eyes flashed silver in anger.  
  
"We are not through Griffin! Mark my words! We are not through!" he yelled in anger and disappeared from sight.  
  
"Damn! I thought that pompous airbag would never leave!" Griffin howled out gleefully to no one in particular.  
  
Griffin nodded to Dumbledore respectfully and then walked over to the Gryffindor table and smiled down at the seated group.  
  
"Sorry about my Dragon form; I got angry. Hey Fred, George, how's the Weasley Wizard Wheezes coming? Ginny, boy you've grown and Ron, jeeze, you grew too. Hermione-whoa!"  
  
"Excuse me, but who are you?" Hermione asked calmly.  
  
"You don't recognize me? Maybe I should go, Hermione. Oh and this letter is for you."  
  
Right before Griffin disappeared he tossed Hermione a letter. Hermione slowly took it in her hands, took it to the common room, and then slowly opened it to Ron's protests.  
  
Dear 'Mione,  
I'm glad you trusted me enough to open this. In case you are wondering who I am, yes, this is Griffin, but I am someone else that is very familiar. Can you guess who I am? I'll give you a clue. I was badly injured when I was twelve because I fought a Basilisk and was bitten, but was saved by a phoenix. Can you guess who I am now? Need another hint? I somehow lived after what killed my parents was turned on me and the worst Muggles to have ever been born raised me afterwards. -  
  
Hermione stopped reading the letter.  
  
'Could it really be-maybe!'  
Hermione scanned the roll of parchment down to the bottom.  
  
I'm alive and I'm coming home to you and to Hogwarts.  
Harry Potter  
  
Hermione stared at the letter in disbelief and turned in surprise when she felt the flare of familiar magic behind her. She turned and almost stopped breathing, as she came face to face with a changed Harry Potter, who was stepping out of the fireplace. His hair was no longer wild, but straight and tamed and he had it tied back in a loose ponytail. He was no longer wearing his glasses, as he had learned a spell to correct his eyesight. He was taller and more muscular, but the old Harry shinned though his eyes.  
  
"Hello 'Mione."  
  
Hermione dove into his open arms and buried her head in his shoulder. Harry held her close and, a little while later, felt her sobs slowly subside. Harry looked down at the young witch curled up against his chest.  
  
"I'm so sorry 'Mione. I didn't know that I would be taken away from you. At least I could save you from being poisoned. I was supposed to bring you, but I didn't want to put you in danger."  
  
"Oh Harry!" Hermione sobbed, "I've been miserable since you left."  
  
"Shh! It's alright. I'm here now. My training's over."  
  
"Training?"  
  
"Nevermind. Just please stop crying," Harry requested gently and smiled at Hermione, who slowly stopped crying.  
  
Hermione looked up into his eyes and, for the first time, she noticed the scars on his face and neck. There was a particularly long one that ran from his right temple down his face, skipped his eye, traced his cheek at a curve, and ended in the middle of his jaw.  
  
"What happened to your face and neck?!"  
  
"These?" Harry asked, treating the long and deep scars that ran down his neck and across his face as if they were an everyday occurrence, "I have scars like these, from training, all over my body. There's practically no place that I don't have a scar or two on."  
  
"Does Dumbledore know you're back?"  
  
Harry grinned. "Not yet, but he will soon."  
  
"You know we can't Appearate-ahhh!"  
  
Harry had grabbed up Hermione and disappeared. They reappeared in Dumbledore's office, right in front of the surprised Headmaster  
  
"The thing is that for some unknown reason, I can," Harry explained as he sat Hermione down on her feet. 


	4. Public Problems

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Dumbledore was surprised when two people suddenly appeared in his office. It was said that no one could Apparate in Hogwarts. No one but the heir of one of the four houses could do that. One he instantly recognized as the familiar female student, Miss Hermione Granger. However Dumbledore didn't recognize the second person, who was grinning at him as if Dumbledore should know him.  
  
"Hello Fawkes."  
  
Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, immediately took to the air and landed on the mysterious young man's shoulder. The young man lifted a hand and stroked the phoenix as if it were his pet owl. Speaking of which Harry Potter's pet owl, Hedwig, flew into the room and landed on the stranger's other shoulder. The snow-white owl nipped his ear affectionately and the young man petted her in response.  
  
"Hello Hedwig. I'm glad to see you again as well. I'm surprised you're not mad at me."  
  
The white owl hooted once before taking to air and flying out the window. Fawkes went back to his usual perch and sat there staring gently at the intruder. The stranger turned to Dumbledore and grinned.  
  
"The Council of Great Powers sends their greetings, Professor Albus Dumbledore," the young man stated and moved his bangs, revealing the familiar lightning bolt scar.  
  
Dumbledore's eyes lit up instantly both in happiness and recognition.  
  
"It is good to see you once more Harry."  
  
"Thank you Dumbledore. It's great to be back. May I rejoin my class and continue to learn here at Hogwarts, as a sixth-year or must I repeat my fifth-year?"  
  
"That won't be necessary Harry. You will rejoin your classmates and continue to learn, though I don't doubt you already know most of what the Professors will teach your classmates. You are probably far more powerful than any of the teachers here."  
  
"Probably so Professor, but I wish to see my friends again," Harry replied and smiled toward Hermione, "And a certain ravishing young beauty whom I have done nothing but think of, whenever I could, for the past year."  
  
Dumbledore smiled and Hermione blushed a deep, dark, red.  
  
"Could I drop Divination and take up Ancient Runes? I have something I inherited that I cannot get to work without knowing the incantation that is written on the blade in Ancient Runes."  
  
"I will see what I can do."  
  
"Thank you Professor."  
  
"I do believe lunch is being served down in the Great Hall."  
  
"Then we are off to eat. It was great talking to you professor!" Harry called as they walked through the door.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry stopped Hermione just down from the Great Hall.  
  
"You do know that when we go in, it'll make a scene?"  
  
"What do you mean Harry?"  
  
"We just waltz in there like normal, take our seats, and act like nothing happened. One of the students is bound to recognize me, even like this."  
  
"That won't make a scene."  
  
"Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Trust me, it will," Harry moaned as they opened the door.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Great Hall was full of students voices as they talked between bites or-if your Ron Weasley-during bites. Suddenly the Great Hall doors opened and Hermione and a stranger walked in. The Great Hall exploded with voices as the young man and Hermione sat down across from Ron and began to eat. Ron looked up from a chicken leg he'd been gnawing on.  
  
"Hey Hermione, who's this?"  
  
"Griffin," was the reply from the stranger after he had gulped down a mouthful of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Hi-ya Harry."  
  
Griffin choked, coughed, and turned as he heard the voice, He saw Cho Chang standing there behind him, grinning like someone who'd figured out a secret.  
  
"You must be mistaken, Miss…"  
  
"Cho, Cho Chang and there's no mistake Harry Potter."  
  
"Alright! Alright Cho!" Harry replied and sighed in defeat, "How'd you know it was me?"  
  
"Easy," Cho stated and pointed to his forehead, "You might have a lot more scars covering your face, but your famous lightning bolt scar stands out among them."  
  
The whole hall was surprisingly quiet, as they had heard the whole conversation. Harry smiled, jumped onto his feet, on top of his chair, and grinned.  
  
"I'm back!" Harry called across the Great Hall.  
  
All day Harry was asked where he'd been, but he never gave a direct answer. Only did Dumbledore, Ron, who only knew after they told him where Harry had gone, and Hermione know where he had been. 


	5. Transfiguration Relevation

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Harry sighed as Professor MacGonagal started the Transfiguration class. Today everyone was to learn what Animagus form they had. They were going to learn about transforming, do it properly, and then, once they had mastered their form, they would become registered Animagus. Harry already knew his and sighed as he watched student after student transform only for a few seconds.  
  
He had a laughing fit, one that nearly cost Gryffindor twenty points, when Pansy had transformed into a pug. Ron transformed into a Kodak Bear, which scared part of the class before he changed back. Lavender transformed into an Eagle and Hermione transformed into a Unicorn.  
  
"Mr. Potter? Mr. Potter?! POTTER!"  
  
Harry jumped and looked up at the teacher from his desk.  
  
"Yes Professor MacGonagal?"  
  
"It's your turn."  
  
"That's alright Professor," Harry replied casually, half-asleep, "I already know all eight of mine and I'm already registered."  
  
"E-Eight!?" Professor MacGonagal sputtered, disbelieving and caught off guard, "That's impossible!"  
  
"No," Harry replied, still casual, "If we can go outside, I'll show you."  
  
"Alright," Professor MacGonagal suddenly replied with her usual demeanor, "Class, outside. We'll gather in the open area in front of the lake."  
  
Professor MacGonagal turned to Harry.  
  
"I only hope, for your house's sake, you know what you are doing…"  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Everyone in the Transfiguration class gathered at the lake. Harry stepped off a ways and clapped his hands together to get their attention.  
  
"You have already seen my Dragon form, but for those who passed out during the Great Feast, here it is again," Harry announced calmly.  
  
In a flash of light, a huge Norwegian Ridgeback was staring them right in the face. In another flash of light Harry was back to his normal form.  
  
"Now my Griffin form."  
  
Another flash of light temporarily blinded them and when it was gone, there stood a large, full grown Griffin. Suddenly Harry returned to his human form and smiled at the shocked group in front of him. Without a word, he transformed into a Hippogriff and then changed back. Then he transformed into an eagle, then into lion, a black wolf, and a silver and gold phoenix.  
  
"Whadda think?" Harry asked after changing back.  
  
"Amazing!" a student yelled from the small crowd.  
  
"That was only seven!" Hermione yelled to him.  
  
Harry frowned at the group before him.  
  
"Come on!" someone else yelled.  
  
"You said eight Mr. Potter," MacGonagal replied calmly, "I do not tolerate liars in my class and I will remove twenty points."  
  
"Stand back!" Harry warned them, looking at directly Hermione.  
  
Harry watched as the entire class ran to the other side of the clearing. He gathered up his energy and began to glow silver-white once more. In a flash of light, he transformed and smirked at the gaping class before taking to the air. Hagrid, who had been teaching his class about dragons, stopped dead in mid-sentence as he caught sight of Harry's last form.  
  
Hagrid didn't know the creature before his eyes was actually Harry. The creature stared down at the Transfiguration class that dwarfed the magnificence of a Griffin. Even MacGonagal was rendered speechless at the sight of it. Dumbledore couldn't help but notice it flying right outside his office window.  
  
"In all my years…" MacGonagal stated in an awed voice, took off her glasses and cleaned them, and replaced them on her face, "I had never dreamed that I would see one."  
  
"Harry! Is that really you!?" Hermione yelled up at him.  
  
There was no answer from him and Hermione doubted he had heard her. Suddenly the airborne creature disappeared in a flash of light and Harry's falling form took its place. Hermione screamed as he plummeted into the lake and then did not come up. Ron dove into the lake and retrieved the unconscious form of his other best friend. 


	6. Ancient History

Disclaimer: i don't own HP or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Harry awoke, the next day, in the infirmary. He groaned at the irony of being in the infirmary once more and only two days into the year. Hermione was not by his side due to the fact that she had had to go to class. Madame Promfrey immediately told Harry to go to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore didn't greet him with a smile, but a serious face instead.  
  
"You transformed into eight figures, impressive."  
  
"Thank you-"  
  
"However!" Dumbledore thundered, cutting off Harry, and suddenly smiled, "You managed to transform into an Anigami that has not been seen in centuries. A Dark Thunder Pegasus and with fire hooves to boot. Only one Animagus to ever take that form, and was recorded in existence, was your ancestor, Merlin himself. Tell me Harry, how does it feel?"  
  
"I don't really know, Dumbledore. One minute I me and the next-" Harry stopped and shrugged, "It's almost like I'm trying to become someone else. It's like there's another being inside of me that wants to get out. I don't fear him, but something tells me that now is not the time to set him free."  
Dumbledore looked down at him with an indescribable look in his eyes.  
  
"Harry, you as so mature for a wizard your age. Something that I haven't ever really seen in most full-grown wizards. You have the blood of a dragon, the heart of a lion, the eyes of an eagle, the mind of a Griffin, and the loyalty of a wolf. You also have powers inside of you that are trying to come forth, but you know that you are not ready to handle them.  
  
"You are, in a word, the most powerful wizard since Merlin's time, but you just don't know how to handle your inherited powers yet. Though many would see it ill to tell you of this, but on the night of your birth, a prophecy came about that you would save the world. Not from Voldemort, but the very darkness that he draws his powers from. It speaks of your abilities and of you holding more power that you can ever imagine. But to quote a man I once knew: 'With great power comes great responsibility.'  
  
"One day my time as Headmaster will pass. I will need someone I can trust to watch over the students. Someone to teach them and protect them, as I have done my countless years. Someone to love them and watch over them as a father figure. Harry, I know that person will be you."  
  
"Me?" Harry replied, barely able to speak from the shock he was going through at the moment, "You want me to become Headmaster after you?"  
  
"Yes. Now don't look so shocked Harry," Dumbledore stated after seeing Harry's expression, "You are a wonderful young man and a powerful wizard. You think with both your heart and your head. You stand by your friends even when it could mean your life. You put others before you and care only for other's happiness. Those are qualities of a great wizard. But Harry, know this, you can't go through life trying to please everybody."  
  
Dumbledore smiled at him.  
  
"You'd better go now. She's very upset."  
  
Harry knew just whom Dumbledore was insinuating and walked, still in shock, out of the office.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dumbledore was correct about Hermione being upset. When Harry stepped into the Prefects' common room, she immediately stopped pacing in worry and pounced on him. Harry, caught off guard, was thrown off balance and landed hard on his rump with Hermione in his lap. She curled up on his chest, buried her head in his shoulder, and sobbed for a good bit. Harry ignored the burning pain of his bruised bum and looked down at the young woman in what could only be described as a mixture of concern and love.  
  
"Moine?"  
  
"Oh Harry!" she sobbed, "I was eating dinner when Draco burst into the Great Hall, grinned like a fool, and announced that you had just died! I rushed out of the Great Hall, down to the infirmary, and found your bed empty and made-up. Madame Promfrey wasn't there to tell me the truth and I thought the worst! I thought that I had lost you! That I didn't get a chance to say goodbye!"  
  
"Shh! It's alright. I'm here now, aren't I? I was with Dumbledore. I just got back from there and you pounced on me. Wait did you say that Malfoy said I was dead? Does Ron think that as well?"  
  
* SLAM! *  
  
"Dead?! One of my best friends is dead!? The 'Boy-Who-Lived' dead!? I think I'm gonna be sick! I just talked to Harry a day ago!" Ron roared like a blooded dragon as he stormed down the stairs that led from the dorm room to two boys shared.  
  
"There's my answer," Harry muttered to himself.  
  
Ron was in the middle of a very long string of curses when he stepped into the common room and stopped dead at the scene in front of him. Immediately his face returned to it's normal color as his anger drained away. He broke into a smile as he saw Harry sitting in the floor, holding Hermione. Hermione was still curled up against Harry's chest and her face was still buried in his shoulder.  
  
"Hey Harry! Nice going with the eighth form-"  
  
"Can it Ron," Harry replied flatly, interrupting him, "Hermione! Hermione?"  
  
"Shh!" Ron hissed, "She's asleep Harry."  
  
Harry stood up with Hermione in his arms and carried her up to her dorm room. Ron followed and helped by opening the door and pull back the covers of Hermione's bed. Then, without Harry noticing, Ron slid out the door and softly closed it. Harry put Hermione in her bed and pulled the covers up over her. He scooted a chair up next to the bed and seated himself in it. He gently moved a strand of hair out of her face, barely touching her.  
  
"Sleep well…Mione." 


	7. Lost Heart Flute

Disclaimer: See last chapter, but for those who don't wanna. i don't own HP or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
In a dark room a man sits, waiting, drumming his fingers against his chair. Suddenly he is joined by a feminine shadow that Apparates in on his left.  
  
"Master…We have the boy…He came for her like you predicted… He is awaiting his death in the room down the hall…"  
  
A cruel smiled appeared on the man's face.  
  
"Good going Fire, I will spare your life…"  
  
A small smile appeared on her face.  
  
"For now."  
  
The smile disappeared along with Fire. The man stood and walked out of the room. He entered another room not too far from one he had just been in. In this room was a young man in armor. Chains, wrapped around his arms and legs, hung him in the center of the room. His head was down and blood was dripping from numerous wounds all over his body.  
  
The man held a wand under the prisoner's chin and raised his head up. Harry's face came into view, beaten and bloody. Harry was crying, as the cruel thing, disguised as a man, in front of him had had Hermione and Ron killed in front of Harry's eyes. The man stepped back, letting Harry's head drop roughly back to his chest. He stepped back a couple paces and raised the wand.  
  
"It is said that you survived the Adava Kedva curse once before. Let's see if you survive this time, boy. Though I doubt you will. Adava Kedva!"  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione's eyes flew open accompanied by a scream. She immediately felt someone trying to comfort her. She almost screamed again, but then realized it was only Harry. She saw him completely fine and alive and immediately grabbed him into a tight hug.  
  
"What's the matter Mione?!" Harry asked her as he realized she was desperately holding onto him, "Why were you screaming? Really bad nightmare?"  
  
"Harry! Oh Harry!" she sobbed out, "You have no idea!"  
  
"Tell me and I will," Harry told her soothingly.  
  
Hermione sniffed and told him exactly what her nightmare had been like. When she was done, Harry looked at her concerned and told her to go back to sleep. He then stood up and walked toward the door.  
  
"Harry?!"  
  
Harry stopped and turned toward away from the door.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You're not leaving me are you!?"  
  
"Just long enough to get something from my room. I'll be right back," Harry explained, and then saw the look of fear in her eyes, "I promise."  
  
True to his word Harry returned a few minutes later, carrying something. To Hermione it looked like a regular flute case, but to Harry, it was something more. He sat back down in his previously vacated seat with the case situated on his lap. He slowly opened it and brought out a exquisitly carved wooden flute.  
  
On this flute was intricate carvings of dragons flying in mid-air. Along on their flight were wizards on brooms. The background was of the Hogwarts castle viewed from the air as if the carvings were watching the castle for some reason. Harry smirked when he heard Hermione gasp out at it.  
  
"You didn't know I could carve?" he asked her as he quirked an eyebrow in confusion, "This took me almost a year to carve."  
  
"It's marvelous," Hermione breathed.  
  
"I haven't played it yet."  
  
Harry brought the flute to his lips and began to play. The tune was a soft and haunting. It was sound that seemed to be everywhere around her, filling up her room eith its melody. It was sad, yet, at the same time, the song made her feel great. It made her feel as if she was floating and slowly it put her into a dreamless sleep.  
  
Unknown to either one, Harry's playing could be heard by the enitre Gryffindor Tower. Wherever they were in the Tower, student's slowly fell asleep. Even the ones already sleeping could hear the tune and it helped them through any nightmares they were currently having. Harry played on until the song got him in its embrace.  
  
There was a price to pay when playing thsi tune with this flute. Since both had magical properties it drew magic directly from him. The tune not only put someone to sleep, but did one or two other things. Harry didn't know what they were, but he did know that they were good things. The was only two things that he knew were about the tune.  
  
One thing was actually a part of the musical spell and that was the sleeping without dreams. The other thing was what it did to its caster if he-or-she fell asleep, Harry fought it. It was no use fighting it though and Harry decided that if he was to pay he would do so after he'd said goodbye to his friends.  
  
Harry dropped to his knees beside Hermione and held her gently as she slept on. He held her, as he fought for life, for a while. Then he simply let go of her and fell to the floor with a sigh. He couldn't find the strength to go to his dorm room and say goodbye to his other friend.  
  
'James! Harry!' a soft, familiar, female voice beckoned him from the recesses of his mind, 'Come in already! James, I know you two are having fun, but you can't stay any longer! Harry might catch a cold! He's only a baby!'  
  
'Is it time already?!' Harry's father asked, a voice coming from another part of Harry's mind.  
  
'Yes.'  
  
'Alright...' Harry replied to the memory, 'Take me home...mom...' 


	8. The Legend

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Hermione awoke the next morning feeling great. She looked all around the room and was disappointed to not see Harry. She got out of bed and changed out of the robes she had worn yesterday. She was coming back to get one of her books to read for fun, when she tripped over something icy cold in her floor. She looked down and let out a half-gasp and half-sob.  
  
Lying there face-down on the floor, body seemingly lifeless, was Harry. She dropped to her knees beside him. She touched his face and felt how icy cold it was. Being trained in Muggle ways of medical help, she immediately grabbed Harry's wrist, felt for a pulse, and found none. Figuring she'd find one on his neck, she tried there.  
  
She held her breath as one second ticked by and then another. She felt no beat, no humming beneath the layers of flesh that suggested life. Nor did she see any rise and fall of the chest that came with life's precious breath. Only a stone cold body that had been warm a mere few hours ago. Hermione didn't care that she was crying, as she felt hot tears slip from her eyes to trail down her face.  
  
*Knock! Knock!*  
  
Hermione's head shot up as someone knocked on her door.  
  
"W-Who is it?" Hermione asked, her voice cracking horribly.  
  
"Hermione? It's Ron. Man you sound awful!" Ron's voice greeted her, "Have you seen Harry-"  
  
Ron stopped dead, as Hermione had opened the door from her side of the room with a spell, revealing herself kneeling beside Harry's lifeless form.  
  
"He's-he's-"  
  
"Dead!" Hermione sobbed, finishing Ron's sentence for him, her voice catching in her throat.  
  
"I gotta get Professor Dumbledore!" Ron yelled and disappeared out the door.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Severus Snape was not a happy man, and yet, at the same time he was grinning. He was carrying a certain red head, by the back of his shirt collar, to the Headmaster's office. Snape burst through the doors with a look of triumpth in his eyes. Dumbledore didn't care for his intrusion, but he did not like the way Snape was handling a student.  
  
"Put the boy down Severus!" Dumbledore commanded coldly.  
  
"With satisfaction sir," Snape replied just as coldly and let go of Ron, making him fall onto the floor in an untidy heap.  
  
Ron immediately flew to his feet.  
  
"Professor-"  
  
Thinking that he was about to say something about Snape, Dumbledore held up a hand, effectively cutting off Ron.  
  
"I would like an explanation, Serverus, as to why you come bargin in here, carrying a student like he has a case of the plague."  
  
"He-" Snape started and pointed an accusing finger toward Ron, "Ran me down in the hall outside the office, didn't apologize, and was shouting at the top of his lungs for you, clearly disturbing almost the entire school."  
  
"Professor! Let me speak!" Ron yelled angrily, "I was acting like that because-because-aw screw it! You won't listen!"  
  
"Try me Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore replied calmly.  
  
Ron took a very deep breath.  
  
"Well, last night Hermione woke up, screaming and crying, from a nightmare-I know because I heard her-and Harry came into our room a little while later. He got out a flute case from his things and went back into her room. Not too longer afterwards I heard this haunting tune being played. Then I fell asleep, in fact the entire Gryffindor Tower did. When I woke up Harry's bed looked as if it hadn't been slept in all night. I found him in Hermione's room-"  
  
Ron stopped speaking for a second, as he had seen that the gleam of triumpth in Snape's eyes had returned.  
  
"Hermione was kneeling the floor and on the floor was Harry. He's dead- Professor Dumbledore-Harry's dead!" Ron finished with a cry.  
  
Dumbledore stood up swiftly and looked Ron straight in the eye.  
  
"A flute did you say?"  
  
Ron gulped and nodded.  
  
"I've heard of a flute like that. Made from the same wood as the player's wand, it becomes extreemly powerful. It is said that only a heir of great power can carve a Lost Heart Flute."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"Lost Heart Flute," Dumbledore repeated, "It is only supposed to be played in an emergency. Apparently Mr. Potter didn't know what he was doing. Now how did he get this flute?"  
  
"Said he carved it himself, sir."  
  
Dumbledore came around his desk and before Ron could blink they were in the hallway just outside the Prefects' common room entrance. Ron gave the password and the three entered. Ron followed Dumbledore up to the room, but stayed out as the Headmaster entered. Ron didn't want to see Harry's body once again, but he could hear Hermione sobbing plainly.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione was sobbing her heart out, but stopped in surprise as Dumbledore and Snape barged into her room. Before her door closed, she caught a look at Ron's stricken face. Dumbledore knelt beside Harry, on the boy's other side from her, and looked Hermione in the eye. There was no sign of the flute or of the case.  
  
"Tell me Miss Granger, did Harry play a flute last night?"  
  
"He did Professor. I had a really bad nightmare. It was a beautifully carved flute. It had dragons flying and with them were wizards on brooms, all looking down on a minuature Hogwarts. The tune was incredible."  
  
"He played a Lost Heart Flute, Miss Granger."  
  
"A what? I never read about anything like that."  
  
"The name may sound strange, but the Lost Heart Flute is a powerful instument. And the reason you never read anything about it is that none, save the descendant, know the true tale."  
  
Dumbledore looked down at Harry's lifeless form and sighed.  
  
"What a waste, such potential, such a big heart, such powers, all put to waste. You did not fulfill your destiny young one. You still have the prophecy to fill and there are people still alive you need you," Dumbledore softly spoke to Harry.  
  
He suddenly looked up at Hermione and smiled.  
  
"He's fighting, but he cannot win without support. Come Miss Granger, grasp his hand and help me to assist Harry."  
  
Hermione didn't question, but quickly did as she was told. Dumbledore bent down and placed a hand on Harry's back.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
A while later, Harry moaned, rolled over onto his back, and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw when his sight returned was Hermione's concerned and relieved face hovering over his own.  
  
"Is this heaven?" Harry asked groggily, "'Cause I see an angel."  
  
Hermione blushed, tears raced down her cheeks in hearing him speak when he had just been dead, as she heard him call her an angel. She saw him suddenly look over her shoulder and frown.  
  
"Damn. Can't be heaven. Snape's here. I must be alive."  
  
Hermione couldn't help but laugh as she heard this.  
  
"What's so funny Mione?"  
  
"Nothing," Hermione replied, "I'm just so glad you're alive!"  
  
Harry grunted as he sat up.  
  
"Won't do that again too soon. Just got one hell of a lecture from mom, dad Merlin, and Godric."  
  
Dumbledore looked at Harry sternly.  
  
"Harry, do you know the legend of the Lost Heart Flute?"  
  
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes as if he was being asked a stupid question.  
  
"Yes. The Lost Heart Flute was originally designed, crafted and played by a descendant of Merlin. The legend is that his true love got anemsia in a fire and wandered the lands, searching for any link to her past. All the while everyone was telling the descendant that she was dead.  
  
"The young wizard didn't believe them. He believed that she had lost her memory and was out there searching for him. He thought of the tune that she used to hum to him and decided to carve a flute. He carved the flute from the very same tree that his wand had been crafted from.  
  
"He poured every ounce of love and need for the young maiden into the flute as he carved it. He carved the animal representing his house-the dragon, a wizard-himself, and the castle in which he lived-Merlin's castle, onto the flute. When he played the flute, the tune triggered the memory of the maiden, who happened to not be too far away.  
  
"The maiden rushed to see who was playing the flute. She knew the tune was her special song for the young man she had fallen in love with. She was hoping that it was her lover and not someone tricking her. On the way to him the maiden met disaster in an attack from a monster, who had heard the flute.  
  
"While the maiden lay dying, the player found her and fought the monster. He cursed the flute for drawing the monster to the maiden. He then changed the flute's powers and attacked the monster, putting it to sleep. The flute drained him in the change as well as the playing.  
  
"He fell asleep as well, slipping easily into death's grasp. Though the tune had killed him, the young girl was spared. The song had saved her by healing her wounds, but it was too late for the young man. Sobbing in heartbreak she played the flute once more, taking her own life. None have been crazy enough to carve another."  
  
"Until now," Hermione whispered. 


	9. First Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.  
  
A really BIG thanks to everyone who have reviewed my story so far. My other story, Phoenix Fire is currently on the back burner due to a major writer's block on my part.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Harry looked up at Dumbledore as the Headmaster looked down at him.  
  
"You promise not to use that flute unless it of is dire need?" Dumbledore asked him, repeating what had just been told to him.  
  
"Yes," Harry replied quietly, "I learned my lesson about the flute."  
  
"If that is what you think is best."  
  
"It is," Harry replied, stood with a groan, and exited the room.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione looked at the clock for the ninth time in five minutes. She was beginning to worry about Harry. Finally he came into the common room looking worse for the wear. Hermione greeted Harry by gently hugging him, trying not to injure him further.  
  
"It's alright Mione. I'm not gonna use the flute again unless it is really necessary," Harry stated softly and when she didn't let go, he added "I'm not going anywhere."  
  
Harry had told Hermione what she wanted to hear. Suddenly an explosion happended outside the castle and the vibrations was enough to throw Hermione off her feet. Luckily Harry caught her before she fell and placed her back on her feet. A sickening feeling hit Harry's stomach and he instantly knew what was causing it.  
  
"Mione! Go to Professor Mogonagal and tell her to take all the students to the Great Hall!"  
  
Hermione didn't have to go, as the Professor came to them. Harry repeated the command to the Deputy Headmisstress, who actually did not fuss about being ordered around by a student, but complied.  
  
"What about you Harry!?" Hermione cried as he tugged her out of the portrait hole, and down the hall, by her hand.  
  
"I have to go fight! This is my battle!" Harry replied as they came to the Great Hall.  
  
They stopped just outside the doors and Harry let go of Hermione's wrist. He turned to her, tears welling up in her eyes as well as his. He cupped her face in the palm of his hand kissed her cheek. She tried to smile at him reassuringly, but it wasn't easy when she was scared out of her mind.  
  
"I will return to you as long as I have your love to come back to," he softly stated to the trembling young woman before him, "I will return. I give you my word."  
  
Before Hermione could protest, about the idiocracy of him fighting alone, Harry kissed her soundly on the lips. Then broke it and gently pushed her into the Great Hall. After that, he put a strong barrier around the Great Hall. A barrier that would keep anyone from getting in or out and it would last as long as he was alive.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry came to a halt just outside the entrance of Hogwarts. A monster stood before him that was undescribable in every way. It looked like a man, but Harry's mind screamed demon, monster, murder, death, and worst of all VOLDEMORT'S MASTER!  
  
"You!" Harry yelled in anger, "You are responsable for the slaughter of countless people! You are behind the murders and attempted murders of the people closest to me! For that I cannot allow you to live!"  
  
"Nice speech, but it's going to take more that words to stop me."  
  
"That's why I was born!" Harry cried and charged toward it.  
  
The fighting enused and it was clear that the thing Harry was fighting was way stronger that he was.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Unknown to either combatant, the entire school had a front-row seat for the fight in the Great Hall. Hermione looked on in fear as Harry battled the creature. A single tear raced down her cheek as Harry was clearly losing. Dumbledore put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Have faith, Miss Granger, he will return."  
  
Hermione was still scared, but the words Harry had told her before gave her strength to continue to hope.  
  
"I know he will. he promised." 


	10. The End of the Fight

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Harry locked swords with the monster before him. He had numerous wounds and was tiring quickily. He had yet to put one briuse or scratch on his opponent and it was making him mad.  
  
"I won't let you win! I won't let you past!" Harry growled in determination.  
  
"I will win, boy! It is only a matter of time!"  
  
"Not while I still breathe!"  
  
"Your death can most definately be arranged!"  
  
Harry was so angry that he lost control and his sword slipped. The enemy's sword was quickly buried deep within his chest. He fell to his knees, gurgling as he breathed in and out, his sword falling, with a loud clang, to rest beside his knees. He felt the wetness of his own blood on his hands as he felt the wound.  
  
Harry stared in disbelief at the sword protruding from his chest. He was in a daze from the pain that the pierced lung and heart provided. The creature walked to Harry, knocked him down with a swift uppercut, and put a boot to the uninjured part of his chest.  
  
"You are pathetic," it stated and slowly removed the sword, "I think I'll do you a favor and end your worthless life."  
  
With that the blood covered sword was raised to remove Harry's head. Harry closed his eyes and let his head fall back in defeat.  
  
'I'm sorry Mione...I'm comming mom and dad...'  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione choked back scream after scream as she watched the sequence of events occur. She saw that Harry was about to die and it shattered her heart into a thousand pieces. It didn't help that the Slytherins were making a series of play-by-play comments about the fight and making fun of Harry along with them.  
  
'I'm sorry Mione...I'm comming mom and dad...'  
  
'HARRY!' Hermione screamed mentally with all the sorrow, longing, and love in her being.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
'HARRY!'  
  
Harry's eyes shot open as he heard Hermione scream his name. Determination, hope, and love lit the fire in his eyes that had died. He grabbed the boot and twisted, causing it to be removed in a hurry, and rolled out of the way of the sword. He flipped to a standing position, grabbing up his sword during the flip.  
  
"I won't go down so easily!"  
  
Harry charged once more, ready to fight, but the enemy had other plans.  
  
"I grow tired of this childish game. I will take my leave of you and give you one month to get stronger. Lose and I will slit your girlfriend's throat, in front of you, without heistation."  
  
Harry let out a howl of rage and his eyes flashed a different color for a few seconds. The thing in front of him took a step back in fear.  
  
"You-You're him!"  
  
"Yes. Now leave!" Harry commanded with a deeper, booming voice, "And if you ever try to harm her I swear you won't live to regret it!"  
  
The creature growled in anger before disappearing completely in a wind that blew up enough dust to obscure anyone's vision. Harry smiled and then was suddenly aware of his wounds. 


	11. Heartbreak and Wounds

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
The students and teachers in the Great Hall waited in wonder as everything went deadly still. Due to the dirt that had been kicked up, they could not see what had happened on the battlefield. Suddenly the shield dropped and the double doors opened. No one dared to move, no one dared to breathe, as a very bloody form with a sword stepped through the doors.  
  
He collapsed to his knees, leaning on his sword. Breathing heavily, gurgling audibly, and bleeding twice as bad. Suddenly a young woman broke from the frozen crowd and ran to him. She stopped dead as the blood from the wounds made the floor very slick and hard to walk on. She bit back both bile that rose to her throat and a scream as one of the eyes opened to reveal a stunning emerald green.  
  
"Mione?" the bloody form asked before it collasped forward.  
  
A hand flew up to her mouth as a shocked gasp came from the young woman. she turned to Professor Dumbledore with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Professor! It's Harry!" she cried out to the form that was now gliding toward her and the prone body.  
  
"Oh God!" someone screamed from the crowd-Hermione recognized her friend Lavender Brown's voice.  
  
"Harry?!" Ron repeated in shock, came out of the crowd, and took a couple stumbling steps toward the two, total disbelief written on his face.  
  
Madame Promfrey rushed forward and conjured up a stretcher right under Harry. Hermione grasped onto his cooling hand, not wanting to let go. Dumbledore looked onward as the two and the stretcher disappeared out the doors and down the hall. He sighed and turned toward the crowd to start damage control.  
  
Ron stared in shock at the incredibly large pool of crimson that one of his best friends had left behind. So numb with shock was he that he hardly felt Lavender latch onto him. He felt her tears though-he felt them soak his shirt. He looked down at the young woman, not quite seeing her, before grabbing her into a tight hug.  
  
"He-He's gonna die is he?!"   
  
Ron looked at his little sister, who had come up to his left. She was staring at the pool of blood that Dumbledore had started cleaning up.  
  
"No way Ginny!" Ron replied numbly, "He's not gonna die! He can't!"  
  
But as he stared at the slowly decreasing pool, his thoughts were a turmoil of doubt. Sure Harry was The-Boy-Who-Lived, but he was also just that-a boy. As Ron saw the pool he realized that Harry was not as invicible as they made him to be, but he was human. With the blood he lost, Ron knew, no human, wizard or not, could live.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Heart and left lung pierced...massive blood loss...multiple trauma to the body...comatose..." Madame Promfrey checked off and sighed, "There's no way this boy could possibly live. Even if I completely heal his wounds."  
  
"He will live," growled an slightly familiar, male, voice, "He has no choice in the matter."  
  
"Alastor!" Minerva Mogonagal cried, "This is not your choice!"  
  
"If the boy is to die, then let him be surrounded by family and friends," another male voice stated.  
  
"Why Severus!" Minerva replied with a smirk, "Some would think you were being nice to the boy."  
  
"I certainly am not being nice to the boy!" Snape snapped, "Just being considerate to the dying." 


	12. Goodbye

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.  
  
Chapter 12  
  
That very hour multiple owls were sent out. Owls went to the Grangers, Weasleys, who were in five different places, Remus Lupin, Arbella Figg, Rebeus Hagrid, and of course Sirius Black, who is Harry's Godfather. Within an half an hour everyone, including Sirius, who was still on the lamb, arrived in the Infirmary.  
  
Hermione was by Harry's side, clutching his hand like she was the one dying and he was her life-line. Sirius came in human form with no care of being caught and sent to die. None gasped or screamed when he appeared, since all that were there knew he was innocent. One by one, everyone focused their attention on the small form before them. Suddenly Madame Promfrey came before the group.  
  
"Before the hysterical sobbing starts I would like to state that he is, as of right now, still very much alive, but I would say that it would be most humane to just, as the Muggles say, 'pull the plug'."  
  
Both Sirius and Hermione looked as if they would be voilently ill.  
  
"If everyone come say their goodbyes now..."  
  
Everyone came and said their choked goodbyes, even Bill and Charlie Weasley were there. Sirius stood before Harry, his shoulders shaking from his silent sobs, as he was as miserable as you could get, and he quickly choked out his goodbye. Ron tried to say something, but found that his throat wouldn't work. Ginny couldn't even go up to Harry, but fled from the room.  
  
Hermione's heart was torn. She had just gotten him back and now Harry was leaving her once more. Only this time it would be permanent. She knew he wouldn't be waking up from his death like he had done before.  
  
"I had hoped that you would be my successor, Harry," Dumbledore stated softly when it was his turn to say adieu, "You have such a big heart and so much potential. The qualities of the greatest wizards known cannot compare to your heart. Fawkes will miss you and I will have it known, as you had me promise months ago, that you died honorably. Also that you would wish to remain known as just a young man that gave up his life and not as The-Boy-Who-Lived."  
  
Hagrid said his piece and then had to leave the room, as he couldn't stand to stay and see the young man actually die.  
  
"Harry? I know you can hear me and I don't care if everyone else can, but please don't leave me. I love you. I've loved you since our first year and everytime you got hurt, I felt as if I had been hurt twice as bad. When you disappeared during the third task, I nearly died thinking you were dead. When you came back almost dead, I almost wanted to die. I'll love you forever," Hermione whispered gently to Harry, trying not to sob out.  
  
Madame Promfrey sighed deeply as she reached out over Harry's prone form with her wand.  
  
'This is the part of the job I hate the most,' she thought to herself as a tear raced down her cheek.  
  
With an almost unaudible utter, the life-support charms on Harry faded away. Without a scream or any sort of protest, Harry slipped quickly from life, leaving behind many broken hearts and an unfinished life... 


	13. The Return

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.  
  
If you really believe I'm evil for the cliffhanger, please R&R. If you don't then just do the same.  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Madame Promfrey knew that she would be hated, it was natural, but she checked for vital signs and shook her head.  
  
"He has passed from this world."  
  
Sirius dropped to his knees and then fell onto his hands.  
  
"Harry...Oh God, I'm so sorry!" Sirius sobbed, "I failed Lily and James..."  
  
Sirius felt a hand on his back and looked up. He saw the last of his best friends, Remus Lupin.  
  
"You didn't fail...There's nothing you could have done."  
  
Sirius nodded and let himself be led out of the room. One by one, the group dwindled down to just Hermione. She cast one last look at the cadaver of her love before she turned to leave.  
  
'Wait...please don't leave me alone...I don't want to be alone...'  
  
Hermione turned around uncertainly, as she knew no one was there and Madame Promfrey had gone to fill out the necessary forms to declare Harry offically dead. Hermione was partially scared, but she figured it was just her grief making her hallucinate.  
  
'I'm so afraid. I can't feel anything. Why's it so cold? Mother? Mione?! Ron?! Sirius?! Ginny!? IS ANYONE THERE!?'  
  
Hermione's eyes widened in alarm, as the voice was definately Harry's and it sounded as if he was panicing. She raced to his side, grasped one of Harry's almost deathly cold hand, and closed her eyes.  
  
'Harry?'  
  
'Mione?! Thank Merlin! Where are you?'  
  
'I'm here Harry, with your body.'  
  
'Body?'  
  
'Everyone thinks your dead!'  
  
Hermione broke the link as she heard Harry go into a round of explictants that would make Ron blush. Suddenly there was a loud pop and Hermione stepped back in surprise as Harry shot up. The fatal wounds he had recieved were gone and he looked as if he had just woken up from a nap.  
  
"Jeez!" Harry complained as he sat up, "I just did it for the first time and already hate doing it!"  
  
Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry and hugged him. The hug was a tad bit painful, but Harry didn't complain, as it made him feel even more convinced that he was alive. Madame Promfrey walked into the room just as Harry slid off the bed, stood, and gave Hermione a quick kiss. She took just one look, unconsciously incinerated the forms in her hand, and promptly fainted. 


	14. Shocking

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.  
  
Chapter 14  
  
Remus Lupin shook his head and tore the Scotch bottle out of Sirius Black's hand for the second time. In the fifteen minutes that Harry had been dead Sirius had downed an entire bottle and was almost through his second one. Suddenly the door to Dumbledore's office opened and everyone froze as Hermione came through alone, but grinning as if her birthday had come early. Suddenly she looked to her right, sighed, rolled her eyes, and stuck her head back out the door.  
  
"Would you get in here!? You're making me look like an ass!"  
  
"That's not easy!" a familiar voice replied with a laugh, "Hey! I just came back to life and you're already yanking me everywhere!"  
  
Hermione grabbed someone and yanked them into the room. Everyone gasped as Harry came into view. The bottle that Sirius had somehow gotten back dropped to the floor and shattered. Harry suddenly found himself wrapped up in a breath-taking, bone-crushing, hug that outdid any that Hermione had previously given him.  
  
"Uh, Sirius..." Remus began after seeing Harry's face change colors a couple times, "If you don't let go Harry will die from lack of oxygen."  
  
Sirius immediately let go of Harry, who began to breathe again.  
  
"Thanks Sirius. For a minute there I didn't think I'd get a chance to live this life again."  
  
"Damn boy!" Alastor Moody growled, "You must have the lives of a cat! According to Dumbledore, this is fourth time you've nearly died since you were born!"  
  
"Fifth," Harry corrected.  
  
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"  
  
Harry grinned. "There was an incident with two horses, a Muggle, two Chinese Fireballs, three drunk wizards, and myself. You see, I was doing a little field exercise for White Blizzard. I happened to stumble upon these three drunk wizards that looked like they just came fresh from a year out of here. One of them bet that I couldn't transform a couple horses into chickens.  
  
"Well before I could say or do anything, one of the other two tried himself and ended up changing two horses into the Chinese Fireball dragons and a Muggle into a chicken. I came out looking like Thanksgiving's turkey after it had been burned to a crisp. Took me a full five seconds to realize that I had croaked and I somehow came back."  
  
Sirius looked half way between angry and wanting to burst out laughing. Lupin was chuckling along with Dumbledore, but Hermione looked struck.  
  
"Anyways, I'd rather fight Night Fire than those two, at least she's more gentle with the claws. I still haven't healed completely from the Chinese Fireball encounter," Harry added onto the story.  
  
"Uh Harry?" Lupin began, concerned, and pointed at the very back of Harry's shoulder, "You're bleeding."  
  
"What?" Harry replied, clearly confused.  
  
Hermione walked to the back of Harry and gently pressed a hand to his shoulder blade. She gasped when it came away with the palm completely painted red. She showed it to Harry, whose face twisted into one of fear and shock.  
  
"Oh shit..." was all Harry said as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell into a pile on the floor.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked and dropped to her knees beside his prone form. 


	15. It starts

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.  
  
Chapter 15  
  
Hermione walked to the back of Harry and gently pressed a hand to his shoulder blade. She gasped when it came away with the palm completely painted red. She showed it to Harry, whose face twisted into one of fear and shock.  
  
"Oh shit..." was all Harry said as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell into a pile on the floor.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked and dropped to her knees beside his prone form.  
  
Everyone began talking and moving at once, but it was Dumbledore who settled the chaos.  
  
"SILENCE!"  
  
Immediately everyone in the room froze as if 'Protificus Totalis' had been preformed on them.  
  
"Miss Granger, stay next to Harry. Sirius and Remus, go get Poppy and Mr. Weasley. Arthur and Molly, you two just stay here."  
  
Everyone unfroze and did what they were told. Sirius went to get Madame Promfrey while Lupin got Ron. An assement of Harry's wounds were made by Madame Promfrey. It was found that there was no found reason as to why Harry had two large slits on his back.  
  
Both wounds ran from the top of the shoulder blade and ran almost the whole length of his back. Without any sort of warning the wounds suddenly healed up and left no trace that they had ever been. Dumbledore looked at Madame Promfrey questioningly, but she shook her head, indicating that she had no idea what was going on.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry woke up to a familiar, and very unwanted, sight of the hospital wing's white ceiling.  
  
"Oh no," he groaned, "Not here again."  
  
Immediately Madame Promfrey came out of her office and walked to his bed.  
  
"Good evening Mr. Potter. Finally awake are we? You have been asleep for three days."  
  
Harry groaned and slowly sat up.  
  
"I'm should have a record for the most times in here during their seven years," Harry joked.  
  
"Not so Mr. Potter," Madame promfrey replied, "You have not beaten Mr. Malfoy. You three have put him in here about one week's time more than you have been."  
  
"Dang," Harry replied, "Anyway, can I go?"  
  
Madame promfrey sighed. "Yes."  
  
Harry quickly changed into his Hogwarts attire.  
  
"Now get out of my infirmary!" Madame Promfrey roared, pointing a finger toward the large door.  
  
Harry blasted out the door, didn't even stop to say sorry to a couple students he ran over, and didn't stop running until he was at the painting leading into the prefects' common room. 


	16. The Confession

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne.  
  
Chapter 16  
  
Harry muttered the password to the painting and slowly walked into the room. Hermione was not in the common room and the fire in the fireplace was burning lower than usual. He looked out the window and realized it was night. Hermione was probably asleep up in her dorm room. Harry quietly snuck up the stairs and went Hermione's room to check on her.  
  
He reached the room and noted that the light was on. He rolled his eyes and thought that she was probably studying. His heart fell to his feet when he reached the door and heard muffled sobbing. He didn't knock, but instead slowly opened the door.  
  
The sight before him broke his heart in two. Hermione was curled into a ball on her bed. She was hugging her pillow to her chest for dear life while crying into it. The sound broke Harry's heart, even futher, into a million or so pieces.   
  
Harry stealthily walked up to her bed and dropped to his knees beside it. He reached a hand out and put it on her back. He felt like crying when Hermione stiffened under his touch and then began trembling. It hit him like a ton of bricks, Hermione-his own Mione-was afraid of him.  
  
"Moine?" he whispered through his broken heart, "Mione, are you afraid? Afraid of me?"  
  
Hermione suddenly flipped over in bed and faced him. Her wand dropped from her numbed fingers as she saw who was there. Immediately she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder.  
  
"No Harry," she choked out, "I'm not afraid of you, but for you. When they said you probably wouldn't wake up, for the third time this year, I thought I'd lost you."  
  
"Thrice is the price," he softly quoted, "It hath begun."  
  
"What has begun?"  
  
"Our fate."  
  
"Fate?"  
  
"Yes," Harry stated softly, "It is time I confessed."  
  
"Confessed?"  
  
"I'm not human," Harry stated flatly, "At least half on me isn't."  
  
Hermione looked at him as if he was crazy.  
  
"No, it's true. I'm half of something that not even I understand. I beginning to transform into something that could very well change me forever. I might not be the same person you fell in love with when all of this is over. I am half of a creature that has not walked the lands since way before humans were around. Tell me, have you ever heard of a Draconian?"  
  
"I-I read about them a couple times," Hermione shakily replied, "But they're supposed to be nothing more than a legend."  
  
"No they're not a legend," Harry softly stated, "I believe that I am the last. My mother was the Draconian in my blood. Father never knew about it until I was born. Not even Sirius knows about it. My father practically had a fit when Dumbledore told him I would change. He wasn't mad at my mom, but he didn't want me to not fit in. These powers are the reason my parents were killed by Voldemort."  
  
Hermione was astonished. "How do you know all this?"  
  
Harry lowered his eyes and looked away.  
  
"Mom came to me in my unconsciousness and told me of my heiritage."  
  
"If that's it, then why do you look like your guilty of a crime?"  
  
"When I was training...well...I-uh...killed someone using some of my Draconian powers."  
  
Hermione's eyes went wide in shock. Harry, always gentle, never the type to unneccessarily fight, had actually killed someone.  
  
"Killed someone, but it had to been accidental, you're too gentle to kill someone on purpose," Hermione slowly spoke out.  
  
"No, my Draconian side took over because it was a Death Eater. A Death Eater that threatened to kill you. As soon as the words: kill, torture, Mudblood, and Granger, were out of his mouth, I snapped. All I remember is a bright flast of lights and then it all went black. When I woke up, the Death Eater was sliced into pieces and there were feathers all over the place."  
  
"Feathers?"  
  
"Have you ever wondered why I love flying?" Harry asked her softly, "You once said it yourself. It's in my blood."  
  
"I still don't understand," Hermione admitted.  
  
Harry frowned like he had done when asked to transform into his eighth form. He stood up slowly and gently pulled Hermione to her feet.  
  
"Come with me, outside," Harry requested and then saw the look of doubt in her eyes, "Dumbledore already gave me permission to go outside whenever I want, as long as I stay on Hogwarts' grounds and don't let anyone see me." 


	17. The Prophecy

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne.  
  
Okay people, did I do something to tick everyone off? I haven't had a single review for my last chapter and I've had it up for a while. What's going on?!  
  
Chapter 17  
  
Hermione followed Harry down the stairs and outside to the lake.  
  
"Luminose!" Harry whispered fiercely and then laid his lit wand on the ground before him.  
  
Hermione blushed deeply when Harry removed his robe and shirt top, leaving him only in his jeans. Harry looked at Hermione, totally confused at her blushing.  
  
"What? I don't know why your blushing," Harry started and slung his shirt and robe to the side, "I just didn't want to rip my robes and especially shirt, as it's one of my favorites."  
  
Suddenly, without warning, two large, white wings appeared from Harry's back. Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing. She thought she saw a brief flash of pain flit through Harry's eyes as the wings appeared.  
  
"I found out about these while I was out. Mom came to me in my unconsciousness and told me about my heiritage. She also told me the prophecy that I've been hearing so bloody much about."  
  
"What prophecy?"  
  
"A child shall be born...  
Shaking the land with power...  
He commeth in early morn...  
Upon the midnight hour...  
The heart of the king...  
The blood of the fire...  
His roar will make the lands ring...  
Saving all in times of dire...  
Eyes sharp as swords...  
Mind as true as they come...  
Pointing out all evils hordes...  
Saving all he lost at home...  
Loyalty wild, but always there...  
Heart hardened by fame...  
Defeating all foes without a care...  
Heart heavy with all his blame...  
He will fly with blacken wings...  
When he is consumed by darkness' cove...  
And kill along with many things...  
Shall only be saved by his true love...  
When all seems to be lost...  
He will fly to their aid...  
At all and any cost...  
No matter the price to be paid."  
  
Hermione stared at Harry in awe and couldn't believe her ears. The prophecy sounded as if Harry would fight for good, but then become evil and then die saving everyone. She knew that Harry was to kind and gentle to become evil.  
  
"There's one more thing...the transformation isn't complete. The wings are just the second step."  
  
"What's the first?"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You said the wings were the second step, what was the first?"  
  
"The power that boosted my magic up to a level above Dumbledore's."  
  
Hermione's eyes went wide in shock as what Harry just said registered completely in her mind. Harry was more powerful than Dumbledore, but that just seemed impossible.  
  
Harry walked to where he stood just before Hermione and slowly let his wings wrap around the both of them. He cradled Hermione to him, causing her to blush, but he took no heed of it.  
  
"I begin my training tomorrow."  
  
"But I thought your training was done?"  
  
"That part was," Harry replied, "But this is totally different."  
  
The two stayed like they were, holding onto each other and slowly time passed. Suddenly, without a word, Harry unwrapped his wings from Hermione. He folded them back in and dressed back into his shirt and robes.  
  
"It's getting to be dawn," he commented, "We should head inside."  
  
Hermione was suprised at the comment and looked up to see the colors across the sky announcing dawn's coming. Almost as soon as the two set foot in the prefects' common room, Dumbledore called for Harry. Gently he hugged Hermione and walked out the door. 


	18. Exhaustion

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne.  
  
Chapter 18  
  
"You wanted to see me?" he asked Dumbledore once he'd reached the Headmaster's office and was standing before him.  
  
"Yes Harry," Dumbledore replied softly, "Did your adversary happen to give you his name?"  
  
Harry shook his head.  
  
"No, well that isn't good," Dumbledore stated softly and stroked his beard thoughtfully, "You need to start training soon."  
  
Dumbledore and Harry talked far into the day. Then Harry went down to the Chamber of Secrets, which he now knew was the chamber that Salazar Slytherin built, and trained.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry pushed himself to his limits, which were very far out there, and beyond. By the time he was done, he could do almost any legal spell without a wand or hand, but with his mind. Also he was a fair impressive swordsman and he had trained physically. Harry finally stumbled from the room at about lunch time. He was holding his head with one hand, in sheer exaustion. Dumbledore secretly looked on at his retreating form with concern and sympathy in his eyes.  
  
'Ah, young Harry. You have nearly died so many times already and your journey has barely even begun.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione saw Harry as he stumbled past the Great Hall and toward the stairs. She followed him, worried, as she saw his condition. Harry, in a sense, looked half-dead with exhaustion. He could barely walk and was almost asleep on his feet.  
  
'What's wrong with him?'  
  
Unknown to Hermione, the condition Harry was in was due to a magical drain of major proportions from his training among many things. Harry hadn't told her, but there was a drawback to coming back to life five or six times in one's life. For every life he used, it cut at least around a good six years off Harry's life. In short, Harry had cut at least thirty years off his own life bring himself back.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione called out to his retreating form.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harry turned as he heard his name and saw Hermione running his way. He smiled tiredly as she drew up next to him.  
  
"Mione."  
  
"You look tired. Is anything wrong?"  
  
"Yeah," Harry stated with a sigh, "Before I changed, I would have lived to be an old man. Now I've lost thirty years off my life and just found out about it. Plus I'm training past my limits and it's all so very draining."  
  
Hermione choked back a sob and helped Harry up the stairs. She helped him into the prefects' common room and up to his dorm room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You have to take it easy Harry," she told him gently as he relaxed in his bed, "You may be a wizard and a Draconian, but your still human."  
  
"Only half Mione," Harry replied weakly, "I'm only half human, remember? the other half is a cursed monster!"  
  
Hermione's blood went cold at Harry's outburst.  
  
"Harold James Potter, where in the name of Merlin did you hear that you are a cursed monster?!"  
  
"I was in the library and I read up on the Draconians. I found out that throughout time anyone with the slightest hint of Draconian blood was an outcast and considered a curse and a monster."  
  
"Oh Harry!" Hermione cried, "You're not cursed and you're not a monster! You're a wonderful, kind, wizard and the best friend anyone could want. You, who has never been shown love, still managed to grow up and become this incredible young man."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really, would I lie to you?"  
  
"I'll have to think about that."  
  
Hermione grabbed up a pillow and smashed it down on Harry's head. In retaliation he pinned her down and tickled her until she said mercy. Harry grinned, life was good. 


	19. Emotions

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne.  
  
Thank y'all for reviewing my fic. A large thank you goes out to sew2100 for reviewing my fic thirteen times at once. Never have I gotten so many reviews at one time.  
  
Chapter 19  
  
Harry stared tiredly at the Runes before him. He was still trying to figure out what the Ancient Runes on the blade of a sword stated. He did not know that the knowledge was locked up in his mind until he would need it, which was soon. It has been three weeks since he had been challenged. Hermione was beginning to worry immensily about him, as she could see the wear Harry was creating on himself.  
  
"Arg! I'll never find out what this blade says!" Harry yelled, fustrated, and slung the crumpled up piece of scroll into the fire.  
  
Harry worked far into the evening and then heard the clock chime twelve-midnight. He sighed, sheathed the sword in his right empty sheath. He had been leaving the Gryffindor sword in the left sheath. He stood up and grabbed up his invisibility cloak. He went to his usual place and practiced until the sun rose.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
After a shower, Harry stumbled through the prefect's portrait doorway. He stopped dead, as he saw Hermione sitting in one of the chairs. Her back was to him, as was the chairback. Hermione's gorgeous chocolate brown eyes were focused on the leaping flames of the roaring fire. When she turned to face him, Harry was startled to see tears racing down her cheeks. Immediately he was by her side, concern showing in his eyes.  
  
"What's wrong?!"  
  
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione sobbed, "Why are you doing this to yourself?!"  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"This!" she cried out and then calmed down, "When was the last time you actually had some sleep?"  
  
Harry looked confused. "What's sleep?"  
  
Hermione looked at him as if he'd suddenly grown a second head.  
  
"I'm joking love," Harry stated softly, "I slept Tuesday night."  
  
Hermione looked at him, alarm clearly written on her face.  
  
"Harry! Today is Saturday the 22nd!"  
  
"Oh shit!" Harry hissed, "He's coming next Monday! I've only eight days left to train!"  
  
Harry turned to go back to train when a hand on his wrist stopped him. Harry sighed deeply and turned to Hermione, who now had a death-grip on his wrist.  
  
"Let go Mione. I need to train."  
  
"No."  
  
It was so quiet, so soft, that Harry almost didn't hear it.  
  
"No?"  
  
"Harry please, I'm scared," Hermione stated and let go of his wrist.  
  
Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione, ignoring his numbed, now burning with the return of blood flow, wrist.  
  
"What are you scared of, Mione?"  
  
"I'm scared you're gonna get killed. I'm scared of loosing you."  
  
"No way Mione. Not gonna happen."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I ain't dying. I'm going to win."  
  
"How do you know Harry?"  
  
Harry's eyes lit up.  
  
"Because I have you to come back to. With you here, there's nothing to stop me from coming back here to you."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Harry smiled and suddenly swept Mione off her feet. She shrieked in protest, but Harry silenced her with a kiss.  
  
"I think it's time I show you just how much I love you."  
  
Harry looked down at her with a coy smile.  
  
"But only if you want to."  
  
Hermione's eyes went wide as she realized what Harry was suggesting, but she smiled coyly as well and nodded. Harry carried her up to his room and neither made a reappearance until late that morning. 


	20. A Twist of Love

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne.  
  
I'm bumping this chapter up to a PG-13 just to be safe!  
  
Chapter 20  
  
It was Monday and Harry and the rest of the school was eating breakfast. Well, everyone with the exception of Moine, who wasn't feeling up to par. Ron was worried for Harry because he looked completely worn out. Lavender was worried about Hermione becuase she hadn't been able to keep anything down, and had been sick all week long. Harry finished and stood up.  
  
"I'm going to go check up on Moine."  
  
Hermione was trying to get some rest and beat whatever virus she had caught. Harry would check up on her whenever he could.   
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mione?"  
  
Hermione Granger moaned and rolled over as she heard her love speak her nickname. She came face to face with the worried young man and weakly smiled as she remember what she had been told not ten minutes before.  
  
"Hey Harry."  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm doing better, but I still feel as if a mule has repeatedly kicked me in the stomache."  
  
"Has Madame Promfery said what's wrong?"  
  
"Yes," she stated softly, "She said that I-"  
  
Hermione was cut off as a large explosion rocked the school.  
  
"Dammit!" Harry howled as he landed on his rear, "Either Fred and George really did a number on one of Snape's potions or that jackass is back."  
  
As if to comfirm him, a certian voice rang out.  
  
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" it called mockingly, "Where are you, my little mouse? This cat wants to play!"  
  
Harry stood up with a growl.  
  
"Harry please don't!"  
  
"Give me one good reason!" Harry yelled at her, not meaning to be harsh.  
  
"Um...Sirius...?"  
  
"Nice try, but how about another?" Harry asked her sarcastically.  
  
"Okay! Please don't be mad," Hermione pleaded, fear evident in her voice, "I'm pregnant."  
  
Harry felt as if she had physically slapped him. His silence unnerved Hermione completely.  
  
"Please say something Harry!" she pleaded.  
  
"Y-you're-you're..." Harry sputtered.  
  
He suddenly grabbed Hermione, swung her around the room a couple times, and then hugged her gently to his chest, all the while he was beaming.  
  
"You're not mad?"  
  
"Mad?! No, no! I'm happy beyond belief!" Harry cried as he let go and sat her back on her feet, but his face turned serious, "Now I have two reasons to come back alive.  
  
Harry's face turned serious.  
  
"I'm going."  
  
"Be careful!" Hermione cried and felt a barrier go up around the room as Harry exited it. 


	21. The King has returned

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne. The idea of the swords crafting was an idea inspired by the "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring."  
  
I'm bumping this chapter up to a PG-13 just to be safe!  
  
Chapter 21  
  
Harry rushed outside the school and confronted his enemy.  
  
"You again!" he hissed.  
  
"I said a month and it has been," the creature replied, "It is time for me to finish what I started. Time to die."  
  
"Not today!" Harry yelled and charged with the Gryffindor sword drawn.  
  
The battle waged, neither one winning, neither one losing, but neither refused to give up. Harry suddenly let out a yell of anger when his enemy sprouted wings and took to the sky in an attempt to get past him. Harry grinned and sprouted his wings, showing his secret to the whole school, which was once again, shielded in Harry's bright green magic.  
  
"How?!" his enemy screamed when he saw Harry pull even with him, "You aren't supposed to be able to fly! The Elves told me so!"  
  
"Did they forget to tell you who I am?" Harry asked him coolly in another voice, "Tell me, creature, do you know of the King of Draconians?"  
  
The creature's eyes went wide in shock and it landed on the ground. Harry followed suit, amused by its shock.  
  
"You really are him!"  
  
"Yes I am."  
  
As Harry spoke these words, images of everyone important to him flashed through his mind. When he came to Hermione and thought of her dying. He felt an intense surge of power. He then thought of the unborn child that was growing inside of her and that it would never be born if he lost this fight. It felt as if the flood gates in his mind had been opened. Harry sheathed his Gryffindor sword and looked coldly at his enemy.  
  
"So have you given up?" it asked with a toothy grinned.  
  
"No," he stated coldly and his hand wrapped around the other sword's hilt, "Just getting ready to blow your ass out of the water."  
  
When the sword was removed from it's sheathe, the light of the sun glinted off of it, the creature shrunk back. It's unnatural eyes were wide in fright at the sight of the sword. Harry looked at the sword as if it was nothing.  
  
"Amazing thing isn't it?" he asked out calmly, "Elvish crafted, but made from Dwarf mined metals. It was the sword crafted as an orginal gift to the King of Draconians to show peace between the three Kingdoms. You can't really tell this sword is thousands of years old. This sword has been passed down from heir to heir and now it's mine."  
  
Harry looked at the ancient runes, suddenly knowing exactly what they said since they were in the Draconian language.  
  
"I am the King. But I am the pauper. I am the Protector. But I am the weak. I walk in the dark. But I am the light!" Harry called out, reading the runes in a chant.  
  
Light exploded from the sword and engulfed him. Even beams of light appeared from his finger tips. Harry was once again lifted from the ground, but this time it was not under his own power.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione gasped as she saw Harry become a being of light. Then the light died down as Harry was sat on his feet. Hermione nearly stopped breathing as the armored figure from her dream stood where the love of her life just had been standing. Hermione couldn't help the tears as she knew what could happen in the future.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry was amazed at his new armor. It was thick, but light, durable, but manageble and best of all, it didn't inhibit any of his moves (To all you Legend of Dragoon fans, think of Dart's armor). Under the armor, was a white button-down shirt and black soft-leather pants and boots. The sword now had a thick armor on it as well.  
  
His wings flowed out of his back and through two slits in his backplate specifically designed for them. The wings added to the effect his armor was already making. His wings were basically the same, except now a deep silver color marked the tips. The backplate was designed like an armored tanktop, only the shoulders had sleeves, well in a sense.  
  
The armor itself was a deep black, about the color of nighttime without a moon. Harry had a headband in the same color wrapped around his forehead, covering his scar and lifting his bangs. The band had a jewel in the center that was bright green and in it's center was a single symbol. This symbol was written in the Draconian language and it was the word Protector.   
  
Then his eyes changed slowly, so at first he didn't notice. The creature noticed and shrunk away. Harry lifted the flat of his blade up paralell to his face and peered into it. His eyes had changed from the sparkling green he normally had, to the deep, dark, black of Draconians. His eyes were flecked with silver, showing that he was Royalty.  
  
"Cool," he spoke and noticed that his voice had also changed.  
  
He turned to the creature and his eyes narrowed.  
  
"I think I now realize just who you are and I do not like being tricked. I wasted a month worring about facing a master that turned out to be nothing more than a cowardly servent."  
  
"How did you guess!?"  
  
"Easy. You carry the aura of a servent. I can read you as plain as day," Harry replied coldly, "I'm going to go against my better judgement and let you live, but only to serve a purpose. You will deliver a message to you're master. The message is this. If he dares to threaten me or my family, I will not heistate to hunt him down and kill him."  
  
"It will not be as easy as you think! My master will hunt you down, kill you, and drink your blood. Then he will drink your love's blood as desert!"  
  
Without another word the creature disappeared. 


	22. Caught

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne.  
  
My eariler mistakes have just now been brought to my attention. To clarify, Malfoy was thrown out, I meant to write that Harry would have imagined that happening (see Ch. 5) and that Pansy Parkinson was the one who burst into the Hall (Ch. 6). Also I called Madame Promfrey Minerva. I had gotten to two mixed up at the time and forgot to correct it.  
  
Okay, back down to PG  
  
Chapter 22  
  
Harry stared coldly at the place where the creature had just been standing. He sheathed his sword, still in his armor, and turned back toward the school. He walked into the building, as he did the shield dropped, and headed for the prefects' common room, where he knew Hermione was waiting. He came to the painting, stated the password, and walked into the room. He was greeted by the sight of Hermione on the floor, sobbing her heart out as if he had just died. Harry was instantly by her side, gently holding her close.  
  
"What's wrong?!" Harry asked her frantically, "Are you hurt?! Is something wrong the baby?! What?! Please tell me!"  
  
"Nothing," she whispered softly and buried her head in his shoulder, "I thought I was going to lose you again."  
  
Harry let out a huge sigh of relief, picked Hermione up, and carried her up her room. All the while, he did not notice a certain elderly wizard watching his every move and hearing every word they said.  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry jumped, as Dumbledore had cleared his throat just as he had come back down the stairs.  
  
"You do know that you are still wearing your armor, Harry?"  
  
"Huh?" Harry asked in confusion and looked down at the armor, "Oh, I forgot that it was there."  
  
With a brief flash of light, the armor was gone and Harry was in the clothes beneath the armor. Dumbledore sighed and Harry once again flashed with light and reappeared dressed in his Hogwarts robes.  
  
"That's better," Dumbledore stated, "I admit that you are very intimidating in that armor and the other is not within the dress code."  
  
"I think that's the general idea."  
  
"Do you mind if I see the sword with the runes written on it?"  
  
"Not at all," Harry replied, unsheathed the sword, and handed it hilt-first to Dumbledore.  
  
"Ah, yes, the ancient sword of the three kingdoms, Starlight Fire. I've heard the stories, but I never believed."  
  
"Starlight Fire?"  
  
"It is said that this sword was called something more, but the real name was lost with the civilization. It is called Starlight Fire because that is the name of the attack the King used. It wiped out over three thousand troops at once. The only time the King used that attack was during that fight, as he had just been very badly wounded in the fight and the attack drained the life from his body."  
  
"Life and death situation type attack, got it," Harry replied, "What got him so mad to use it?"  
  
"The same thing that got you mad enough to get your armor."  
  
"They threatened his family?"  
  
"No, they killed his wife, unborn child, brother and his family, the king's daughter, and the heir to the throne. Only one was spared, the king's youngest child, his three year old daughter, your ancestor. The King did not know she survive, so believing that his entire family was dead, he used the attack that killed him in the process."  
  
"You're kidding!"  
  
"No, the last of the Royal family was a child. Now you are the last survivor of the royal family."  
  
"Blimey! I knew I was a Draconian, plus I had a bit of Royal blood in me, but never did I imagine I really was the King of Draconians!"  
  
"Yes, a thin bit of the Royal blood courses through you, but you are mostly just half of a common Draconian. Have you ever wondered why you got your mother's eyes? In Draconian society anyone with Royal blood had red or silver eyes, but your mother got her green from the rare type of common blood that is part of her.   
  
"Normally Draconians' had black or green eyes, depending on their magical strength. If you had green eyes, you were almost as powerful as the Royals. if you had black eyes, then you just had enough power to protect yourself and your family. Since you are a mixture of a Draconian Royal, a powerful commoner Draconian, and a powerful wizard, you are probably the most powerful magical being since Merlin and he was a pure-blood wizard."  
  
Harry's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
'That isn't something you hear everyday,' Harry repeated over and over in his mind, as Dumbledore left him to his shock, 'Better go check up on Moine and the baby.'  
  
Harry slowly got up and headed back up to Hermione's dorm room. 


	23. Blood Rain

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne. The idea of Blood Rain is not mine, as it came out of a book I just read that was written by Tamora Pierce.  
  
Sorry, I hit a writer's block and ran out of ideas.  
  
Chapter 23  
  
It was morning once more and Harry awoke before Hermione. He watched her sleep, from his place at her doorway, with a smile. Slowly he walked into the room and knelt beside the bed. Softly he moved a stray strand of hair from her face and kissed her forehead. He was to meet with Dumbledore and pick up the conversation that had been stopped when Harry was way too shocked to continue.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dumbledore sighed as Harry sat down.  
  
"Are you ready to continue?"  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"Alright. Now, did the creature say anything about this master before it disappeared from view?"  
  
"He said that it wouldn't be as easy as I thought. His master would hunt me down, kill me, and drink my blood. Then he would drink Mione's blood as desert."  
  
"This is serious. You could barely touch him if at all and he was a servent. Even with the armor you wouldn't have won. You had no idea how to access all of its power. If this Master is as powerful as I think, then you may be in serious-if not fatal-trouble."  
  
"What if I train nonstop between classes and save the nightime for Mione?"  
  
"You're already burning the candle at both ends, Harry," Dumbledore stated without the twinkle in his eye, but it suddenly returned, "Last night, I happened to overhear you ask Miss Granger about the health of a baby. May I ask you what that question was about?"  
  
"well...uh..."  
  
'I'm screwed.'  
  
"You do know that I may have to expell you both?" Dumbledore stated softly.  
  
"Please don't expell Mione, Professor!" Harry pleaded, "Toss me out if you need to expell someone! She loves learning here! Please sir, I love her too much to let her get hurt that way! Isn't there some way she can stay here and keep the pregnency a secret?!"  
  
"Calm down Harry. I said I may, I didn't say I had or was going to."  
  
"Thank you," Harry replied and breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"There is no spell to hide pregnancy, but I know of a way that could help. You want to train and still have time with Miss Granger and your child. You could drop a few classes, which I'd normally disapprove, and use the time to train. You could teach Miss Granger her classes, and bring her her homework. While this is happening, she can help you train, most likely mentally."  
  
"Which classes should I drop?"  
  
"I would advise dropping unrequired classes, that would be Ancient Runes, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures."  
  
"I don't mind losing Ancient Runes or Herbology, but do I have to drop Care of Magical Creatures? I really like that class."  
  
"No, you don't have to drop it."  
  
"Then I'll drop the other two and use the time to train. Also I will train at night and alternate days in for sleep."  
  
"I shall inform your professors of your decision. Also you do know that I claim no responsibility for your health."  
  
"Professor Dumbledore-"  
  
"Albus, Harry, just Albus."  
  
"Albus, are you telling me that you're afraid of Madame Pomfrey?!"  
  
Dumbledore's eyes told Harry all he needed to know.  
  
"Albus..." Harry moaned, "May I go now? Class will start soon."  
  
Dumbledore nodded his consent and Harry flew from the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry rushed up to the prefects common room, grabbed his books, and ran to class. He made it to Potions with mere seconds to spare. Snape nearly broke down the door as he stormed into the room.  
  
"Alright class," Snape sneered, as usual he was eyeing the three friends, "Today, tomorrow, and the day after that, we will be making a potion so potently deadly that the slightest mistake can cost you your life."  
  
A few of the Gryffindor students gasped.  
  
"Potter!" Snape snapped.  
  
Harry snapped to attention. "Yes Professor?"  
  
"You will be working with Longbottom," Snape snapped coldly, "Before we begin, has anyone in here-besides Miss Granger-ever heard of Blood Rain?"  
  
Hermione didn't know and all, but one, didn't know either, but all were afraid. Harry went white as a sheet, as he knew about the stuff and what it could do.  
  
"Professor Snape!" he yelled out in anger, surprise, and bit of fear, "Does Professor Dumbledore know about this!?"  
  
Hermione was uneasy, as she had seen true fear in Harry's eyes.  
  
"What Albus knows," Snape sneered coldly at Harry, "Is none of your concern."  
  
"It is too!" Harry yelled back, "Blood Rain is a conction so pontently deadly that a single drop can kill you! It causes the blood inside the body to literally boil in your veins. A single drop can kill you in a matter of seconds, so there is no time for a cure!"  
  
Hushed whispers ran through the classroom and Snape sneered.  
  
"Any one who refuses to make the potion will fail this class."  
  
Harry's face was an emotionless mask as he turned to Snape.  
  
"Then go ahead and fail me, 'cause I'm not making it," Harry stated coldly and walked out the door.  
  
He was soon followed by every Gryffindor and most of the Slytherins. Only a handful of the Slytherins remained in the classroom. Dumbledore suddenly appeared, walked into the practically deserted class room and snapped the door shut with a bang and locked it with a spell. 


	24. The Challenge

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne. Also I don't own Legend of Dragoon, or any of its characters, where I got the idea of the armor from. I do own the quote from Hagrid, nor the one(s) from Aladdin.  
  
To add to the disclaimer on Chapter Six: I do not own the quote 'With great powers comes great responsibility' as I got that off of the movie and/or TV show "Spiderman".  
  
*Sounds*  
  
^actions within thoughts^  
  
'thoughts'  
  
"Speaking"  
  
Chapter 24  
  
Harry was surprised, Ron was disappointed, to learn that Snape only recieved a major tongue lashing by Dumbledore. Snape was forced to not fail any of the students that had walked out of his class. The castle soon returned to it's weird version of normal.  
  
Harry dropped the extra classes and used the time to train. He eventually got stronger, but he could not access the hidden powers of the armor. At first Hermione wasn't happy that she wouldn't be going to class, but when she heard that it was that or be expelled, she quickly warmed up to the idea.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You know," Harry commented, about a week after he'd begun his training, to Hermione, "Salavan-actually, come to think about it, none of the Elves have come to bother us."  
  
Suddenly Dumbledore's voice rumbled through the halls, calling for Harry and Hermione to come to his office. It was embarrassing, but it was also faster than an owl. Harry and Hermione took the secret passage from their dorm rooms to Dumbledore's office to avoid Hermione being seen.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry and Hermione came into Dumbledore's office with concern written across their faces. When they saw Salavan standing there, Harry's face went from concerned to enraged in point three seconds flat. He sneered at Salavan angrily and then turned to Dumbledore.  
  
"What's he doing here?!" he growled.  
  
"Salavan here has come-"  
  
"I can speak for myself old man!" Salavan barked, interrupting Dumbledore.  
  
Harry jumped forward angrily, brandishing his Gryffindor sword. If looks could kill, Salavan, Elf or not, would have died at least ten times over.  
  
"Never insult Albus Dumbledore in my presence again!" he growled, quoting Hagrid from his first year.  
  
"I care not for your idle threats," Salavan replied smoothly, "I came here to challenge you in a duel."  
  
"Wizard, sword, Elvian, or death?" Harry asked him coldly as he sheathed his Gryffindor sword.  
  
"Elvian and sword," Salavan replied, "And Hermione is..."  
  
Here Salavan faltered as he laid eyes on his sister for the first time that day. His anger towards, and hate for, Harry grew ten fold.  
  
"I take that back," Salavan stated icily, "No sword, Elvian to the death. Hermione and the baby are the prize."  
  
"I am no trophy to be won!" Hermione snapped, "And neither is my child!"  
  
"I know that," Harry stated softly before his voice became cold once more, "Where is this duel to take place?"  
  
"In the courtyard of the royal palace."  
  
"I accept," Harry replied, "On three conditions."  
  
"Name them," Salavan stated with a snap.  
  
"One, Hermione is to accompany us. Two, neither she nor her baby will be harmed. And three, it is an all out battle," Harry replied, "If I win Hermione's ties to the kingdom will be cut according to her will and she and the baby will be allowed to return with me."  
  
"And if I win, she stays, the baby will be raised as an Elf, and you will become nothing more than a bad memory."   
  
"Fine," Harry replied.  
  
Salavan nodded to this and then disappeared. Harry knew that Hermione must be mad at him for this, so he was slow in relaxing.  
  
"I am not a trophy to be won, Harry!" Hermione repeated once again, "And neither is our child!"  
  
"I know that, but Salavan doesn't," Harry replied softly, slowly relaxing his shoulders, "He sees you only as Princess of the Elves. A young woman that should have never associated with the "Demon King" in the first place. Let alone fall in love with him and bear his child."  
  
"Demon King?!" Hermione repeated, "What have I told you about-"  
  
"It's the name the Elves gave me," Harry replied softly, cutting her off, "The Elves and the Draconian's have been at war with each other for so long that only two remember the reason for the fued. Those two are the two Kings, your father and me."  
  
No more words were spoken between the two and Harry was excused to class. Hermione stayed to talk with Dumbledore.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Later, at night...  
  
*Swish!*  
  
'Strike, parry, thrust, block, strike, parry, dodge, parry...' Harry went over in his head as he practiced, 'Why ^parry^ did ^thrust^ he ^block^ have ^dodge^ show up now ^thrust^!?'  
  
Harry was so busy being angry that he didn't notice Hermione slip into the room. She stood there, one hand resting lightly on her stomach, watching him. She was showing greatly in her four months of pregnancy. Suddenly a glow came on her face and she caught his eye, smiling. She smiled as he stopped and came over to her.  
  
"Something up, Mione?" he asked her lightly.  
  
"It's moving," Hermione replied joyously, "It just kicked me."  
  
Harry's eyes went wide in surprise.  
  
"May I?"  
  
Hermione laughed lightly and Harry looked at her confused.  
  
"You don't have to ask," Hermione explained, "You're the father and my love. You can feel our child moving anytime you want."  
  
Harry gently laid a hand on Hermione's extended stomache. His hand trembled in excitement as he awaited his first feel of the moving life that grew within his love's body. Just then he felt something lightly strike his hand. He almost jerked back in surprise, but stayed still. He looked up at Hermione with the same smile on his face.  
  
"This is true magic," he whispered to her gently, "My Uncle is wrong. Magic does exsist."  
  
"Harry, you're a wizard and I'm a witch, of course magic exsists!"  
  
"Not that kind of magic, Mione. The kind that comes from knowing that we created life. That in five months we will be holding a baby of our own," Harry replied, "But before then I will destroy Voldemort, his master, and their followers. I will not let our child grow up like I did!"  
  
"Oh Harry!" Hermione cried, choked up at what he said.  
  
Harry smiled at her once more before reluctantly leaving her side to practice some more. Then the two retired to bed early for different reasons. Harry because he had three tests and a battle the following morning. Hermione because carrying a baby was tiring.  
  
Harry gently wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist, his hand rested lightly on her stomach. He had the feeling that Hermione was carrying twins. He did not say so in fear of being wrong. He felt Hermione breathe in and out as he lay there, unable to sleep.  
  
'I will protect them, no matter what.'  
  
With that thought, Harry drifted off to sleep. 


	25. Arrival

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, as I got that off of Escaflowne, which I do not own as I have forgotten to state in my last 20 or so chapters. Also I don't own Legend of Dragoon, or any of its characters, where I got the idea of the armor from. Also, forgot to mention in last chapter, I don't own the title 'Demon King', I got that off of Dragon Ball Z, which I don't own.  
  
*Sounds*  
  
^actions within thoughts^  
  
'thoughts'  
  
"Speaking"  
  
Chapter 25  
  
Harry woke around dawn the next day and could not go back to sleep. He lay there, contemplating his future with Hermione. He lay there, unconsciously stroking Hermione's hair, for a good half hour before he decided to get up. He carefully moved Hermione, so he could get up without waking her.  
  
He went into the bathroom to take a shower. He stepped in and turned the tap on hot. He stood there, letting the hot water run down his body, thinking about the upcoming fight. Finally, he finished showering and got out. He came back into the room in a pair of boxers, toweling his messy hair.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
Harry stopped toweling and lifted his eyes up to the bed. Hermione had woken up and missed his presence. He smiled softly at her and turned to the dresser. He pulled out some clothes that were unfamiliar to Hermione. After Harry had finished it was all Hermione could do to stay conscious.  
  
He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and tan pants (think of Van's outfit on the Escaflowne series). He had replaced his regular shoes with dragon hide boots, also dyed black. He was wearing black finger gloves and his Gryffindor sword was strapped to his back in a sheath.  
  
When he turned his back to her, Hermione noticed there were two large slits, purposely put there, in the back of his shirt. Hermione slowly got out of bed and changed clothes. She wore baggy robes to hide her pregnency, but other than that she wore her regular clothes. Harry offered her his arm and she accepted.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dumbledore had arranged for a portkey to the Elven City by ways of agreement with the King. Hermione was nervous about meeting her real father, but hey, who could blame her. She had never met him, also he's a king, and she's pregnant at sixteen, who wouldn't be nervous.  
  
Harry didn't like the idea of her traveling by portkey in her condition, but she told him she could handle it. Harry wasn't convinced and Hermione was at the end of her short rope of patience with him.  
  
"Harry, dammit! I'm not made of china! I am not going to break! So stop acting like I will!"  
  
Harry looked at her shocked before nodding only once.  
  
"I'm sorry, it's just that I don't want to loose either one of you."  
  
Hermione smiled at him softly just before they grabbed the portkey and was greeted by the familiar nausating effects of portkey travel.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
The two slammed down in the outskirts of the Elven City rather harshly. Harry stood with a groan and looked around concernedly for Hermione, who was flat on her back, hand held to her forehead, groaning.  
  
"Are you two okay?!" Harry asked her, almost frantically, as he gently helped Hermione onto her feet.  
  
"I'm fine and, I don't know how I know, but the baby's fine as well," Hermione replied softly.  
  
"Whoa!" Hermione cried out after turning around, "Is that it?!"  
  
"That?" Harry asked, also after turning around, pointing toward the large city that was built on trees and cliffs, "Yeah, but if you think that's grand, wait until you see the palace."  
  
The two walked for what seemed like forever before they arrived at the edge of the magnificent city. As they walked along the bridges that ran along the trees to the cliffs, where the palace laid, a large group of Elves appeared. Adults, children, some Harry and Hermione's age, ancient ones, and babies, all appeared.  
  
"You!" someone yelled out, rudely and angrily, "Demon King! It's bad enough that you have to be here! But to bring in outside garbage along with you! You should be put down like the worthless creature you are and your trash with you!"  
  
There was quite a few fearful gasps from the crowd. Harry turned to the offender with smoldering eyes.  
  
"Speak lowly of me if you will, but should this be spoken to the King. He will have your head for insulting the Princess of Elves, Hermione!"  
  
As soon as Hermione's name was uttered, the Elf who'd insulted her turned whiter than a sheet and started mumbling apologies. Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry, who shrugged helplessly before the two continued onward toward the palace.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione gasped, Harry hadn't been kidding. The Elven Palace was more grand than the city by a long shot. As they walked into the spacious courtyard two Elven guards rushed forth to oppose their intrusion, but Harry stopped them by stepping in front of Hermione.  
  
"We are here on offical business with the King," Harry stated with authority.  
  
"What proof have you?" one guard asked harshly.  
  
"I am the proof," Salavan stated regally as he stepped from the shadows of the palace, "And the girl is the Princess, though she does not look it."  
  
The two guards immediately fled from their sight. Salavan sneered at Harry, nodded his head in indication they sound follow, turned on his heel and walked away. Harry and Hermione slowly followed and soon found themselves in the presence of the King.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Greetings to you, your Royal highness," Harry stated formally.  
  
"State your business here creature," the King stated coldly, "So you will leave here quickly and I can get your stench of foul magic from my palace and courtyard."  
  
"Father!" Hermione scolded, letting it slip out before she could stop herself.  
  
"He is here to duel me for Hermione," Salavan explained, his voice as cold as his father's.  
  
"Salavan! You fool!" the King thundered, "If any innocent Elves are injured or killed because of your foolish arrogance then I will personally sent to your punishment!"  
  
"Yes father," Salavan replied automatically, "But I will not lose!"  
  
"When and where is this to take place?" the King asked him tonelessly.  
  
"In two hours, in the courtyard."  
  
"Type?"  
  
"Elven to the death," Harry stated coldly.  
  
"Very well," Sirocco replied.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sirocco=Storm  
  
de=(Spanish 'of')  
  
Sortilege=Magic 


	26. Mother!

Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter" J.K. Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, or the evil older brother thing, as I got that off of "Escaflowne", which I don't own. Also I don't own "Legend of Dragoon", or any of its characters, where I got the idea for the armor. Lastly, I do not own Hermione's Mother's name, as I got that off of the video game "Wild Arms 2". I do not own the name "Demon King" as I got that off Dragon Ball Z.  
  
Chapter Twenty Six  
  
As Salavan stared at the couple before him coldly , he came to a decision.  
  
"Father there is something about my dear sister you should have noticed by now," he stated in a tone that was way colder than what Harry had just used.  
  
"And what would that be?"  
  
"You don't want Hermione associating with the Demon King do you?"  
  
"Absolutely not!" the King roared angrily.  
  
"Let alone in love with him and carrying his child," Salavan stated with   
  
an even colder tone.  
  
"You have to be lying!" the King roared once more, not even looking at Hermione, "No daughter of mine-"  
  
"She is father!" Salavan roared back, cutting the King off in midsentence, "Ask her your self!"  
  
The King turned toward Hermione with malice burning brightly in his eyes.  
  
"Is this true!?"  
  
Hermione shuddered involuntarily, but she stood straight and looked her father in the eyes.  
  
"What would you care?" she asked him icily, "I am in love with Harry Potter and carrying his child."  
  
"This is an outrage!" the King roared, "You're not my daughter!"  
  
"Yes she is!" came an angrier voice, but this one was feminine.  
  
A female Elf stepped out of the shadows. Long brown hair framed a face that was an older version of Hermione's. The same brown eyes stared out at them, seemed to convey love and sadness at the same time.  
  
"Mom?" Hermione whispered in disbelief.  
  
"Altecia?" the King also whispered.  
  
The beautiful woman nodded yes to both questions.  
  
"Hermione is your daughter, Sirocco," she stated levelly, "And I will prove it to you."  
  
Without saying a word or moving a muscle, the air around the Queen swirled and then moved to Hermione. Harry cried out in alarm, as the swirling vortex of magic enveloped his two loved ones.  
  
"What have you done!?" Harry cried out in fear and anger, "If you've hurt-"  
  
"Be at ease young King, it won't hurt my daughter."  
  
"Yeah mom," Hermione's voice calmly replied from the vortex, "But will it hurt my unborn child?"  
  
Harry felt the familiar tingle of Hermione's magic. He closed his eyes and searched. He looked into the vortex and saw that, at the last second, Hermione had managed to get a magic barrier up.  
  
"Unborn child?" Altecia repeated, "Are you telling me-"  
  
"Within her womb lies a growing monster!" the King yelled, "The child of the King of the Demons!"  
  
"SIROCCO DE SORTILEGE!" the Queen thundered lividly, "You are still going on with the meaningless feud! Look at him! He is a boy that just became King. King of what? King of a people who are rare and have been hidden in fear for hundreds of years!"  
  
"There are more of those demons than you think!" the King yelled back, "Waiting and watching for the perfect moment to catch us, the Elven Kingdom, off guard. They care for no one but themselves, kill for fun, and love to shed blood!"  
  
"I beg to differ!" Harry shot out angrily.  
  
"Stay out of this!" the King roared back.  
  
"No! You stay out of this, father!" Hermione yelled angrily, "Harry is nothing like you say! He's gentle and caring and kind! He hates death and would never intentionally cause it! He hates to see the blood of innocents split! He is fighting against the monster that you just described, but this monster is no Draconian."  
  
"Yes he is, Mione," Harry stated softly, "The creature I am to defeat is a Draconian of Royal blood. In fact, he's my brother."  
  
Hermione looked shocked.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I just found out-"  
  
"Don't lie to me!" Hermione replied angrily, cutting him off, "You knew and you didn't tell me?! Are we not that important to you?!"  
  
Hermione turned her back to Harry, who looked at her shell-shocked.  
  
"Moine, please...listen to me..."  
  
"Hmph!" was her reply.  
  
"Fine...Since you don't want me in your life anymore there's no reason to fight Salavan. Congrats Salavan, you've destroyed my life."  
  
"You're not getting out of the fight this easily!" Salavan replied angrily, "We still fight and Hermione is still the prize!"  
  
Hermione was so busy being angry at Harry that she didn't retort to this.   
  
'I wish you knew how big of a mistake you're making, my child,' Altecia thought to herself, as she watched the fighting couple.  
  
Harry accepted the challenge and went down to the dungeon to his cell. He placed his swords and other weapons on the table before him. He walked into the cell, sat down on the floor, and waited for them to magically shackle him to the wall. All of this was part of the agreement he had made with the King concerning the fight. 


	27. The Fight

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, or the evil older brother thing, as I got that off of Escaflowne, which I don't own. Also I don't own Legend of Dragoon, or any of its characters, where I got the idea for the armor. Lastly, I do not own Hermione's Mother's name, as I got that off of the game Wild Arms 2. I do not own the idea of the weighted shirt, as I got that off of Dragon Ball Z, which I don't own.  
  
Chapter Twenty Seven  
  
Two hours later...  
  
Harry stood up as they opened his cell up.  
  
"It's time," one of the three guards stated solemnly, as if Harry was getting ready to go to his own execution.  
  
Harry was escorted to the courtyard where the fight was to take place, still unarmed. After he was inside the courtyard, he was given back all of his weapons. He was given two minutes to get everything back in place. Just when the last dagger was in place, an arrow was shot off into the air; it was the signal to start the fight.  
  
Salavan grinned at Harry and unsheathed one of his swords. Harry went for the Gryffindor sword and quickly unsheathed it. The two faced off and launched forward, feet almost completely off the ground, at incredible speeds. As the two exchanged some quick blows, Salavan could tell that Harry's heart wasn't in the fight.  
  
"Wake up boy!" Salavan yelled as he easily parried Harry once more, "This is a fight to the death! Not a sparing match with your mother!"  
  
"Are you calling my mother weak?!" Harry growled, a fire suddenly alit in his green eyes.  
  
"I'm saying that you're weak! You obviously inherited this weakness from your mother! You shouldn't be fighting at all!"  
  
This really stirred Harry up and Salavan smirked as the fighting was kicked up a notch. Harry thrusted his sword forward, aiming for Salavan's chest, but the Elf dodged just in the nick of time, capturing Harry's Gryffindor sword under his arm. Harry growled angrily and pulled out a dagger, clearly wanting to draw first blood.  
  
Salavan smirked and twirled around with his sword, arcing low. Harry bit back a scream of pain as the sword sliced into his side and struck the bones. Salavan had draw first blood and it excited the crowd. It horrified Hermione, who had bit back a cry of alarm at seeing Harry's blood spilling onto the stone surface of the courtyard.  
  
Salavan landed a distance from Harry, the Gryffindor sword still in his possession.  
  
"Look at this! Five minutes into the fight and you've already lost a weapon and had blood drawn!" Salavan scolded him like a parent would scold a small child.  
  
Salavan tossed the Gryffindor sword to the ground. In the rules of an Elven fight any weapon that hits the ground completely is considered lost to its owner and therefore no longer usuable during the fight. Harry growled in anger and quickly glanced at where the rest of the Royal family was seated to watch the fight.  
  
The King was clearly enjoying the fact that his son had drawn first blood. The Queen looked disappointed at all three males. Hermione was gripping her chair's arms tightly and her head was lowered. Her bangs covered her eyes, as if she was trying to block out the fight, but she could still hear it.  
  
"Let's take this up another notch," Salavan stated calmly and removed the weighted shirt that he usually wore for fights.  
  
Salavan tossed the shirt behind him and out of the ring. It hit the ground with a loud thud, creating a small dirt cloud. Harry smirked and removed his two empty sheaths and his then shirt. When Salavan had removed his shirt, cheers, whistles and cries had come from all the young female Elves.  
  
It was nothing compared to what the scars Harry carried brought out of the whole crowd. Hermione looked up at this moment and her eyes went wide. Harry had had his shirt off numerous time around her, but she had never really noticed how many scars he had. Harry's upper body was a mess of slashing, angry, scars. The only two places that did not have any traces of scars was where his wings came out of his back.  
  
The fight continued, Salavan looked stronger, but in truth two were equal. Harry swung the dagger toward Salavan's chest, but the Elf blocked and sent Harry reeling with a punch in the eye. Harry shook the cobwebs out of his brain and attacked.  
  
Salavan blocked Harry's attacks one after another. It was clear that Harry was getting stronger with each swing. His anger seemed to fuel his power and he was becoming more and more angry with each passing moment. Salavan twirled around another attack and savagely brought his sword hilt down at the exact moment Harry's right knee passed under it.  
  
The sickening crack of bone was heard throughout the arena. Salavan then brought the hilt up and rammed it into Harry's wounded side. As the   
  
white-hot pain filled him, Harry stopped caring about his tough-guy image. He whipped his head back and let out a scream of pain from both the shoulder and the shattered knee.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Salavan smirked in victory, he had not a scratch on him while his opponent could barely stand, was having trouble breathing, and was slowly bleeding to death. His right eye was swelling shut, making him blind on one side. To top it all off, he was down a weapon while Salavan still had all of his.  
  
The young man looked at him with hate and lowered his head. As this occured Salavan felt that Harry should continue no longer. Though he hated the young man before him with a passion, Salavan didn't want to make his little sister hate him for fighting a one-sided fight. Salavan no longer felt like this was an even fight, in fact he hadn't really felt it was one at all.  
  
"Do you yield?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry slowly raised his head and once again looked at Salavan with hate in his eyes. Besides the pain and hate, determination burned brightly in his eyes. He wasn't about to give up and lose the two most important people in his life. He snuck another glance at the rest of the royal family and saw that Hermione was crying. He felt sick, not sick because of the pain, but sick because he was making Hermione cry.  
  
"Never!" he spat out, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth, "This is a fight to the death! I won't yield!"  
  
"You can barely stand or breathe and you are bleeding to death," Salavan stated, it sounded almost like he was concerned, "I do not want to hurt my sister anymore than she already has been. Yield and see her happy."  
  
"If I yield I will never see her again. I won't get to see the baby's birth nor would I see it grow up. I believe that that is a far worse fate than death."  
  
"So be it!" Salavan growled.  
  
Just then Harry's bad leg collapsed and he fell to his knees. Salavan raised his sword back, ready to decapitate Harry. Harry ducked as the blade whistled by, taking off a very small length of his hair. Harry rolled out of the way just as Salavan swung downward, barely missing him.  
  
Harry managed to get back on his feet and drew another dagger from it's sheath. Salavan was quickly becoming angry. His rage was beginning to blind him and so he charged at Harry head-first. Harry smirked as he stood his ground and smoothly moved out of the way as Salavan thundered past. While the Elf Prince was going past, Harry managed to knock Salavan's sword from his hands.  
  
Salavan cursed him and quickly pulled something out of his pocket. It looked like an ordinary, thin, wood box that was as long as Salavan's hand was wide. When Salavan smirked, Harry knew something was up. Salavan hit a button on side and the small box slid open on the ends and unfolded into a long bow.   
  
Harry now understood something that had been puzzling him from the beginning of the fight. The reason why Salavan was carrying a loop of bowstring on his belt and a quiver of arrows on his back. Before Harry had taken his next breath, Salavan had strung his bow, nocked an arrow, and had it aimed straight at Harry's heart.  
  
"Again, do you yield?"  
  
"Never."  
  
"So be it once more," Salavan replied and released the arrow.  
  
The arrow flew true to its course and seconds before it hit, Harry jumped into the air. He landed on the other side of Salavan, who had nocked another arrow onto his bow while Harry was in the air. He smirked at Harry, who only smirked back and unsheathed the Draconian King's sword.  
  
Harry cried out the chant that called upon the armor. As soon as he was done changing into it, Salavan released the arrow, thinking of nothing more than drawing more of Harry's blood. Just as the arrow was about to hit, Harry launched into the air once more and opened his wings.  
  
Salavan kept nocking and firing arrow after arrow, forcing Harry to dodge in mid-air. Finally Salavan was down to the last one arrow. Harry, who thought that Salavan had run out, did not notice that he had one more. Salavan smirked as he nocked it, drew it back, and released.  
  
Harry's eyes went wide as he saw the arrow streaking toward him. He tried to dive in order to be missed, but he didn't dive in time and the arrow sunk into shoulder. Harry let out another scream of pain and, as if answering his cry, the sky grew dark with storm clouds.  
  
Lightning bolts came down like angry hands searching for someone to punish. Rain poured down in thick sheets, immediately soaking anyone not protected from it. Harry, who could no longer fly with his wet wings and injured shoulder, plummeted to the ground. He landed, with a sickening crack, on his side in the courtyard. Immediately after his crash landing, his wings disappeared in a cascade of falling feathers. 


	28. Truce of War

Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter" J.K. Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, or the evil older brother thing, as I got that off of "Escaflowne", which I don't own. Also I don't own "Legend of Dragoon", or   
  
any of its characters, where I got the idea for the armor. I don't know if 'Oblin' is the already the name of a fictional monster so I'm using it in my story and if it is already, then I don't own it.  
  
A BIG Thank you goes out to everyone who reviewed, EXCEPT for flamers. Thank you very much, you know who you are.  
  
Chapter Twenty Eight  
  
"You lost!" the King yelled gleefully at Harry, ignoring the storm, as he jumped the barrier between them.  
  
Harry groaned, rolled onto his stomach, and started to black out. The King immediately kicked him in the side, jolting him back to total consciousness. Harry felt intense pain radiate from his ribs and spread to every part of   
  
his body. He coughed haggardly and pushed himself halfway up with his arms, shaking from pain, weak from blood loss, and injured in one shoulder.  
  
"What kind of King," Harry weakly started, "Kicks a man when he is down?"  
  
"I don't consider you a man, Demon," Sirocco replied.  
  
Harry ignored him, and the pain, and looked at Hermione in concern.  
  
"You lost," Sirocco continued, "Therefore Hermione stays here and the baby shall be raised as an Elf."  
  
"It's not over yet!" Harry weakly cried, "I can still fight!"  
  
Harry's head lowered since he lacked the strength to hold it up. He was astonished to see that his blood had collected into a large pool beneath him. Hermione must have seen the blood, for she gasped and turned white in the face. She came to his side and knelt down beside him.  
  
"Get away from him!" the King thundered at Hermione.  
  
"I'm not going to hurt her," Harry replied breathlessly.  
  
His arms suddenly lost what little their strength they had left and he collapsed forward. Hermione choked back a sob and a cry of fear. Harry forced himself to roll onto his back. One of his hands blindly searched for Hermione's. She grasped Harry's hand and gently held it to her stomach, her hand resting on top of his.  
  
At that moment, his eyes were as brilliant then as they had when he first felt the baby move. He closed his eyes for a moment and something in the back of his mind told him that he was dying. He felt Hermione's magic getting stronger by the minute He opened his eyes in astonishment to see that both Hermione and him were glowing a pale blue.  
  
He could feel wisps of Hermione's magic flowing throughout his body. The magic seemed to be stitching his wounds closed, repairing the damage, and giving his strength back, but alas, she didn't get very far. Only a couple wounds had healed and it was taking its toll on Hermione. Harry saw this and instantly he broke her concentration.  
  
At that moment, hundreds of unknown creatures appeared from nowhere and began to attack the Elves mercilessly. Harry and Hermione was ripped from each others' arms. Harry and the King was quickly cut off from the rest of the Royal family, as the vast army of enemy creatures surrounded them.  
  
To Harry these things looked like Goblins on steroids. They were at least six feet tall and had abnormally long arms that were as wide as tree trunks. On the ends of these arms were hands that were the size of dinner plates. Their legs were similar to a cat's, giving them incredible agility and speed.  
  
They came in only five different colors, dirty red, dingy blue, pale green, dark grey, and nightime black. Watching the Elven army fight them, Harry quickly realised that the colors told what these creatures' strength was.   
  
He roughly figured that the reds and blues were regulars, greens were elite. He also figured that grey were really powerful and black were bosses.  
  
"Who's protecting Hermione or the Queen?!" Harry yelled out, as he suddenly remembered that Hermione and the Queen had no weapons with them.  
  
"Salavan is!" the King yelled back, "He's a much better fighter than you!"  
  
Harry quickly retrieved his swords from the courtyard that had quickly become part of the battlefield. As Harry hacked his way through the creatures, he had only one train of thought on his brain. Get through these monsters, find Hermione, and make sure she and baby were alright. Harry looked all around at the enemy's large army and then back at the King of the Elves.  
  
"Truce?"  
  
"Truce," the King replied crossly.  
  
With that said and done they began to hack their way through the army. For every Oblin, as Harry called them, they cut down, there seemed to be two more there to take its place. They seemed to be hopelessly outnumbered until the Elven army arrived. With their help, the two cut a path toward where they had last seen the others in the battle.  
  
Harry saw Hermione for only a second until the gap closed right back up with Oblins. Harry lost sight of Hermione and right then she let out what Harry could only call a blood-curdling shriek. Harry removed an Oblin's head, getting a clear view of Hermione, in time to see her being roughly carted off by an unknown man.  
  
It seemed that as soon as Hermione was in their possession, the enemy army retreated. Harry immediately took off after them, but the man was too fast. Harry saw a black portal up ahead and watched the man disappear into it with Hermione. He tried to follow, but he hit an invisible wall.  
  
"Stupid boy," a human-like voice hissed from behind, a voice that made Harry's skin crawl, "Dark hearts, prisoners, or guests go through portal. You no are of the three."  
  
Harry turned and saw one of the black creatures staring at him. He stared at it in shock. He hadn't felt nor heard it come up behind him.  
  
"You could have killed me then...why didn't you?" Harry asked it.  
  
"Master want you alive so he kill you," it replied simply, "I follow orders, all follow orders."  
  
"Does that mean I have to fight you?" Harry asked calmly.  
  
"If you want save girl."  
  
Harry attacked the monster, who jumped over him easily.  
  
"You fight like child," it stated crossly, sounding disappointed, "You no be Demon King fighting like that."  
  
"I am the King of the Draconians and I am not a child!" Harry yelled in   
  
reply, suddenly remembering that he was still wearing his armor, which was   
  
the reason he hadn't died, on impact, when he hit the ground so hard,   
  
ealier.  
  
He rushed forward and found himself sprawled out on the ground. The Oblin laughed at him for his misfortune. As he lay there, he suddenly remembered that not only was he the King of the Draconians, but he was also a Wizard.  
  
"Wingardium Leviosa."  
  
The Oblin stopped laughing as it began to float.  
  
"Stupefy."  
  
Harry felt hollow as his opponent hit the ground stunned. He now realised why he didn't use magic in fights like this. It made him feel like he hadn't really won at all. He tried the portal again and smacked into the invisibile wall once more.  
  
"I won!" he yelled into the portal, "Let me through!"  
  
He felt sort of stupid for yelling at a portal, but he didn't when a cold voice replied.  
  
"Then Draconian King, come get your Queen and hier."  
  
"I will."  
  
Harry sheathed his sword, thrusted his arm forward, and felt it go through the portal. He stepped through and found himself twisting and twirling in a vortex of pure darkness. 


	29. Capture

Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter" J.K. Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, or the evil older brother thing, as I got that off of "Escaflowne", which I don't own. Also I don't own "Legend of Dragoon", or any of its characters, where I got the idea for the armor.  
  
^Sorry it's short, but hey, I've got Writer's Block you wouldn't believe.^  
  
^I'm having a writer's block of major preportions. If you have read my story: Saiyajin Soul, please help me. I need an idea for the next chapter. If I like your idea, I'll use it and give you credit.^  
  
Chapter Twenty Nine  
  
Harry found himself twisting and twirling in a vortex of pure darkness. It was so dark that not even light escaped from it. It reminded him of the black holes that he had learned about, at Dudley's school, before he had found out that he was a wizard.  
  
Suddenly the tunnel took a sharp, 90 degree, drop and Harry landed on solid ground, in a crouched position. He rose from the floor and slowly looked around. Then he unsheathed the Draconian King's Sword and tried to Apparate, only to find wards stopping him. Instead, he calmly began to walk forward. There was only one way to go and it twisted and turned in many different directions-for what seemed like forever-so much that Harry lost track of where he was going.  
  
Finally it straightened out into one big hall that had two large doors at the far end. As he walked it, Harry suddenly found himself staring at nine armed men, all carrying swords. Yelling as one they charged at Harry, who easily knocked out four of them with one blow. The remaining five attacked together once more. Harry shook his head in disgust and took care of them.  
  
After that he ran into groups of five or six guards every twenty feet or so. By the time he had made it to the large double doors, he was disgusted, angry, and a bit tired. He pushed them open and growled in disgust, as another large hall appeared.  
  
This time the groups were of seven to eight guards and were every ten feet or so. It seemed like forever before he had managed to dispact the last set of guards when a woman stepped into his way. She had long red hair and green eyes. In fact she looked like a dead ringer for his mother.  
  
Harry quickly smashed that thought into the back of his mind. He had to put personal feelings like that aside-she was the enemy after all. She was dressed in an outfit that suggested she was a Native American, but she looked to be British or Irish.  
  
"My name's Fire and you aren't taking another step."  
  
"If Moine's in there, I am," Harry stated levelly in an angry tone.  
  
"The woman carrying your child has become my Lord's!" Fire cried angrily, jealousy was in her tone, "Even though I hate her and would gladly let you take her back, I cannot let you harm Lord Raze!"  
  
"Raze you say?" Harry replied, "And did Lord Raze tell you who I am?"  
  
"He told me enough!" Fire yelled in anger, "He told me that you murdered your mother and father in cold blood, so that you could become King! He also told me that he barely managed to escape before you destroyed the house! And he told me that you were the one that murdered my family!"  
  
At the word family, Fire swung her weapon at Harry's head, trying to remove it from his neck. Harry just barely managed to duck, but his bad knee, which had been throbbing painfully ever since his battle with Salavan, made it hard to maneuver.  
  
"I never got to say goodbye!" Fire cried out angrily.  
  
She swung the weapon, which was a double-bladed battle axe, a highly unusual weapon for a girl, at Harry's neck. It was obvious that she was still trying to remove his head.  
  
"You split my mother in two! You sliced my father to ribbons! You decapitated my older sister and little brother!" she yelled out.  
  
Her green eyes were full of nothing but hate for him. As he continued to dodge her wild swings, Harry noted that there was tears in Fire's eyes.  
  
"Then set my house on fire! And worst of all-you enjoyed it! YOU-YOU SICK MONSTER! YOU ACTUALLY ENJOYED IT!"  
  
All the while she had been screaming this, she had been halfway, blindly, swinging her axe.  
  
"You would have killed me as well, but I wasn't home at the time!" she yelled in anger, "My family was peaceful Woodcutters! You had no right, no reason, to kill them! I made a vow that I would avenge their deaths and now I will, by killing you!"  
  
Now Harry understood the reason she was using an axe, but he wished she would stop swinging it at his head. Finally fed up, he dropped to the floor and swept her feet out from under her. The axe went flying backwards and into one of the doors, embedding deeply in the wood.  
  
As Harry stared down at the woman before him, Harry felt only a sadness for her in his heart. The feeling increased as Fire looked up at him with hate still burning brightly in her eyes, but now there was sorrow and a hint of fear mixed in. The tears in her eyes, which she had barely been holding back, came forth unbidden.  
  
"No!" she choked out, "I can't lose! I just can't!"  
  
She reached toward her axe, but Harry was faster with his sword. Before she had taken another breath, Harry had the point of his sword barely an inch away from her throat.  
  
"I don't know what my brother told you," Harry stated calmly, "But he lied to you. I've never slaughtered any family and I never will."  
  
"Liar!" she hissed through her teeth.  
  
"What did my brother tell you I used to slaughter your family?"  
  
"What you hold in your hand is stained with the blood of my innocent family!"  
  
"My Dracionan sword, huh?" Harry replied with no emotion, "I can tell you this, while I have carried it, only the blood of evil has stained it. Nowhere does it carry the stain from the blood of innocents slain by my hand because I have killed no innocents."  
  
As Harry said this, he didn't notice the man sneaking up behind him until it was too late. He was hit hard in the head with something and fireworks exploded in his brain. The last thing he saw was stars before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed into a pile on the floor.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Fire looked down at the unconscious form with malice. She kicked him a couple of times in the ribs before Ice stopped her.  
  
"Next time," Fire hissed out to the boy, "You won't be so lucky."  
  
"Oh stow it," Ice muttered and reached down to pick up the boy, "And help me haul this boy into the next room. He's heavier than he looks."  
  
"Fine," she replied, "But I hope Lord Raze lets me kill him."  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you," Ice stated flatly, "He didn't murder your family."  
  
"Then who did?!" Fire asked, snapping, as she helped haul Harry's unconscious form into the next room.  
  
"Dunno," Ice replied as he put a lock on the chains, "Just don't think this kid had the power to do it."  
  
The two walked out of the room, Ice nodded to Fire, who Apparated away to tell her master the news. 


	30. Hello Brother, now say goodbye

Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter" J.K. Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, or the evil older brother thing, as I got that off of "Escaflowne", which I don't own. Also I don't own "Legend of Dragoon", or any of its characters, where I got the idea for the armors.  
  
^Sorry it's short, but hey, I've got Writer's Block you wouldn't believe.^  
  
^I'm having a writer's block of major preportions. If you have read my story: Saiyajin Soul, please help me. I need an idea for the next chapter. If I like your idea, I'll use it and give you credit.^  
  
^Thanks to everyone who has read my story so far and reviewed! You all know who you are! BTW, I've been thinking about a 125th reviewer contest, but everyone does those, oh well, I doubt I'd get than many reviews anyways.^  
  
Chapter Thirty  
  
In the Throne Room...  
  
Hermione was scared as she stood there before the man that happened to be her love's enemy and his own brother at the same time. Like in her dream, she couldn't see much of him, for he was cloaked in darkness.  
  
"Well, well...the Princess of the Elves," he stated, with a voice only slightly similar to Harry's, in a venomous tone of voice, "Allow me to introduce myself..."  
  
He leaned forward and Hermione gasped. He had the same looks and hair as Harry. The biggest difference, besides age, was that his eyes were hazel, like James Potter's had been and his hair resembled that more of a unruly Weasley than an evil Potter.  
  
"The name my parents gave me is David Potter, but I prefer-"  
  
"Lord Raze!"  
  
A feminine shadow had Apparated in on his left, and was now kneeling beside his throne, interrupted him.  
  
"Master...We have the boy...He came for her like you predicted...He is awaiting his death in the room down the hall..."  
  
A cruel smiled appeared on Raze's face.  
  
"Good going Fire, I will spare your life..."  
  
A small smile appeared on her face.  
  
"For now."  
  
The smile disappeared along with Fire. Raze stood up and smirked down at Hermione, who had fallen to her knees, shaking in horror. Her nightmare-no, her vision-was coming true and it absolutely terrified her. Raze forced Hermione to stand and then walk out of the room and entered another room not too far from one they had just been in.  
  
In this room was a familiar young man in armor. Chains, wrapped around his arms and legs, hung him in the center of the room. His head was down and blood was dripping from numerous wounds all over his body. Blood was rapidly pouring out of his body from a nasty wound on his side.  
  
Raze held a wand under the prisoner's chin and raised his head up. Harry's face came into view, beaten and bloody, but now conscious. Raze stepped back, letting Harry's head drop roughly back to his chest, but then Harry slowly raised it.  
  
"Not such a pretty sight now is he, Princess?" Raze asked her with a bit of venom in his voice, "But I guess that looks didn't matter to you when you got in the sack with him and became pregnant."  
  
Hermione cringed, as she had hoped he hadn't noticed that she was pregnant. Sure they had been stupid to have done 'it' at this age. They had been even more stupid to not have used protection. Now not only was she pregnant at sixteen, but Harry and her probably would be expelled from school once the baby was born.  
  
Raze studied Hermione for a moment, then he studied Harry, and grinned. He watched Harry's reactions, as he tried to decide who to kill first and then chose Hermione. He saw the panic and hatred burning in his brother's emerald green eyes. He stepped back a couple paces and raised the wand-the one that Hermione just realized was Harry's own wand.  
  
"Your choice, little brother, the baby and the girl or you..." he called over his shoulder, sounding like someone asking if another if he wanted a regular soda or diet, cafene free, soda and not deciding on who would die, "Who will it be?"  
  
"Me," Harry replied, "Leave them alone."  
  
"It is said that you survived the Adava Kedavra curse once before. Let's see if you survive it this time, dear brother. Though I doubt you will," Raze stated with a sneer, "Adava Kedavra!"  
  
The green light raced toward Harry, but suddenly veered off course for no reason. Harry smirked at him as Raze stood there in shock. Then, with a smirk of his own, he turned toward Hermione.  
  
"Let's see if your little trick works for her as well," Raze stated and raised his wand, but then he lowered it "No, wait-I don't like monotony. So how should I-ah yes, torture to death. Crucio!"  
  
Harry was forced to watch Hermione writhe on the floor in pain, arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. Harry's eyes picked up a familiar glow and saw that Hermione had placed a shield around her womb, protecting their unborn child from harm. Even though the child was no longer being harmed, Hermione still was. Deep down inside of Harry, he felt something snap and the dam that held back his power crumbled.  
  
Swiftly, shockingly, a roaring river of fire swept through his veins. With a roar of pure rage, Harry ripped the chains from the walls and stood up on his own accord. Slowly he began to change, as the anger and blood of the thousands of Draconians, and their Kings, murdered by useless wars rushed through him.  
  
His wings erupted from his back-shattering the chains-but the wings were not their usual white, no these wings were almost the same color as the armor. It was almost impossible to tell where the armor stopped and the wings began. Out of nowhere, his sword flew into the room. Harry caught it easily and smirked at the look of terror on his opponent's face.  
  
The blood made Harry's veins sing with power. For Raze, the song being sung was the "Death March". Harry's eyes were no longer emerald green, but a deep, dark, black. So black in fact that there seemed to be no pupil in either eye. Harry took a step forward and the ground shook.  
  
"HEAVEN'S JUDGEMENT!" Harry roared in a voice different from his own.  
  
Raze was nearly caught off guard, as the powerful attack was used, but he ducked just in time. When the smoke cleared, a huge hole was now where a wall used to be and Raze's head would have been had he not ducked. The attack enraged Raze and he pulled out a sword of his own.  
  
"I am the true King. You are a Weakling. I am the Slayer. You are my prey. I am the strong. You are the weak!"  
  
After Raze had cried that out, he transformed into armor that was like Harry's own. But this armor was blood red and, where 'Protector' was written in the jewel of Harry's headband, 'Slayer' was written, also in Draconian, in Raze's. Unlike Harry's, Raze's wings were pure white.  
  
Then something about the hole in the wall caught both Harry and Hermione's attention. There was a whole other room and floating in the room was a large ball roughly the size of the Great Hall. It radiated black energy like a dark sun and Harry instantly recognized it.  
  
"The Heart of Darkness," he whispered in terror, his eyes returning to normal, "I thought it was just a myth-a legend-used to scare both Draconian and Elven children into behaving! This must be a trick, or an illusion, of some sort!"  
  
"Think again dear brother!" Raze yelled, "It's as real as it looks!"  
  
"Then that is what gives both you and Voldemort his powers," Harry replied coldly, "It is what threatens everyone I hold dear and cost many innocent lives! Lives including a lot of my friends and some of my family. I will not stop until I destroy it!"  
  
"I will destroy you before you take one step near the Heart of Darkness!" Raze replied angrily and charged at Harry.  
  
Hermione looked on in fear as the fight began, not wanting Harry to die, but not wanting him to have to kill his own brother. 


	31. Brother vs Brother

Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter" J.K. Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, or the evil older brother thing, as I got that off of "Escaflowne", which I don't own. Also I don't own "Legend of Dragoon", or any of its characters, where I got the idea for the armor.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
REPLIES TO REVIEWERS  
  
ranger2: thanks for the review.  
  
debbie(): thanks, I'm working on the next chapter already.  
  
StephanieWong: thanks, it's nice to hear that I'm a great writer. I've had a few people tell me that I couldn't write to save my life.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
WARNING: I'm not good a fight scenes of any type, whether this or in my DBZ fic, Saiyajin Soul, which has been on, and is still, on hiatus for months due to a major Writer's Block.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter Thirty One  
  
Hermione looked on in fear as the fight began.  
  
"I am the King!" Harry roared out as Raze charged.  
  
"I am the true King!" Raze roared back, missed, and then attacked again, "You are a weakling!"   
  
"I am the Protector!" Harry cried out in anger, as he dodged.  
  
The two locked swords and neither seemed to want to give up. Finally Harry took a chance and unlocked his sword from Raze's and swung low. It would have connected, but he read Harry's move before he had even done it and he took to the air instead.  
  
"I am the Slayer!" Raze yelled out from the air, "And you are my prey!"  
  
"I will defeat you!" Harry replied as he seemed to disappear into the shadows along the walls.  
  
"Not a chance! I'm stronger than you'll ever be!" Raze yelled, stationary in the center of the room, "You cannot hide!"  
  
"I am just as strong as you and even more so!" Harry yelled out, as he flew out of the shadows that were at Raze's back.   
  
"You are nothing more than a weak link! And weak links will break the chain of a dynasty!" Raze replied, as he brought his sword up to block Harry's attack, "I will crush you easily!"  
  
The fight continued for some time, both suffering heavy wounds even though they were wearing armor. Harry was giving his all because he knew that when the wings of a Draconian turned black, they had little time before they died and Harry knew this time he wouldn't be coming back.  
  
"I will not let you win," Harry stated, suddenly calm.  
  
"And I will not let you live," Raze replied, also suddenly calm.  
  
Hermione watched the two as they stared each other down. Then Harry leapt at Raze, his sword held behind, and over, his head in both hands. He swung his blade downward, trying to take Raze's head off. Raze rolled to the side so Harry's blade hit the stone floor instead of his body.  
  
Harry's blade scraped along the floor, as he rolled head over heels and then to his feet, creating a painful screeching noise accompanied by sparks. Immediately Harry turned around and started attacking haphazardly. Raze evaded Harry's blows with ease. Harry was totally blinded by his rage and therefore he was in trouble.  
  
Raze smirked as Harry retreated to the shadows once more. He had won so now all he had to do was kill his brother. After that, he would have a clear shot at the throne-no, wait-there was still one thing in his way. His little brother's unborn heir, resting within the Princess's womb. Raze knew that would easily be taken care of.  
  
"You will not last long, dear brother," Raze stated out coldly to the shadows, "Your wings are black and therefore you are dying. After I kill you, your wench and child are next to go."  
  
"You will never lay a hand on either of them!" Harry howled out in anger, as he blindly leapt from the shadows.  
  
"Harry don't listen to him! He's saying that to get a rise out you! So you'll fight blindly!" Hermione cried, but it was useless, as Harry simply would not listen to reason at the moment.  
  
As the teo brothers clashed, Hermione saw a rolled up parchment in her mind's eye. Slowly it unrolled and Hermione was able to read it.  
  
'A heart that's pure.  
  
Golden and bright  
  
Is always sure  
  
To carry the light  
  
If one believes   
  
With all their might  
  
They will never leave  
  
The path of right'  
  
Hermione was interested in this small rhyme, but something else, a note that was written under it, caught her eye and held it.  
  
'But a warning do I write. 'Protector' follow the footprints set out before you by the last King or you will fall into darkness. The 'Slayer' wishes for nothing more than the blood of the King who he believes has betrayed him. If you fail then the Harmony will be disrupted and the Melody and the Lion will die along with the Harmony.  
  
'You will gain your crown and true powers when your heart is pure and your mind is calm. Use them both wisely for they are both key fragments of your life. Rule fairly, live long, and end the feud. May our past Kings protect you and your family. Walker of the Light.'  
  
The vision ended as suddenly as it had started, leaving Hermione confused.  
  
'What could any of that mean?'  
  
"Any last words, my Liege?" Raze asked in a venomous voice, straining the 'my Liege' in a way that made it sound like an insult.  
  
Hermione's head shot up and gasped in horror. Harry was flat on his back, Raze's sword was at his throat, ready to slit it, and his own sword was lying on the floor, nearby Hermione. As she looked down at the sword, something was reflected back that she was sure wasn't her and yet it was. Staring back at her from the flat of the blade, wearing the crown of a Queen, was a brown haired, brown eyed, Elven version of herself.  
  
The reflection was smiling at Hermione and in her arms she held-Hermione's eyes flickered up at Raze's unprotected back. She now knew what she had do if Harry was to live through this fight. With shaking hands, Hermione grasped the hilt and slowly stood up. She straightened up and held the sword out in front of her.  
  
Raze seemed to not notice that Hermione was now both standing up and right behind him. Without stopping to think, Hermione brought the hilt of the sword down on the back of Raze's unprotected head. He didn't even go fully into shock before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the ground in a boneless heap. Harry stared at her in amazement from his position on the floor.  
  
"What was that?" he asked weakly, as Hermione knelt down beside him.  
  
"I don't know," Hermione replied, "It felt like someone else took over me. they seemed to know that I didn't want to kill Raze with the sword. So instead they knocked him out."  
  
"Hey, that's great and all Moine, but-"  
  
Harry was cut off by what started out as a low rumbling noise and gradually began to grow louder by the minute. His face took on a look of terror as he realized what it was.  
  
"Run, Moine!" he cried to her, over the loud rumble of the unconscious Lord Raze's self-destructing, underground, castle.  
  
'Why is it doing this?!' Harry mentally cried, 'He still lives!'  
  
"What about you!?" Hermione cried out, as Harry used his powers to protect them from falling debris, "I can't leave you here to die!"  
  
"Forget about me! Remember our baby!" he cried out, "Run and give our child a chance at life!"  
  
"But what about you?!" Hermione cried out once more, tears racing down her cheeks, one hand rested on her stomach, "I don't want our child to grow up without its father!"  
  
"I think that you might want to think of two baby names. 'Cause not only will I not be there to help, but I have a feeling that our baby is actually babies-twins!"  
  
"Twins?!" Hermione repeated, shocked, "That makes sense of what I saw in the blade, but wouldn't the second child have shown up on the ultrasounds?!"  
  
"Take one when you go to Madame Pomfrey. The second child is there. I can feel its life, its blood, beating within my heart along with the first one."  
  
"I have felt it too!" Hermione replied, "I thought I was imagining it!"  
  
"When you get to the Elf Kingdom, don't stop, take the portkey back and make sure you all are alright!" Harry commanded her with a tone that said 'If I didn't have to yell to be heard, I would have said this softly'.  
  
He then looked into her chocolate brown eyes, which were quickly clouding over with unshed tears.  
  
"Moine, even if I wasn't injured, I wouldn't survive to see our children born!" he cried out, reached up, and gently stroked her cheek, "My wings are black and that means that I'm dying."  
  
"Who says?!"  
  
"It's common knowledge for all Drac-"  
  
Harry was cut off as Hermione kissed him on the lips for what was probably the very last time. Harry placed a hand on her stomach, almost automatically, and felt the lives within Hermione moving. They were acting almost frantic, as if they somehow knew what was happening-that they were losing their father.  
  
"We love you, Harry James Potter," Hermione whispered in his ear, after breaking the breathtaking kiss.  
  
Tears raced down her cheeks and hit Harry's blood stained armor.  
  
"We will always love you."  
  
And then she got up and ran down the shaking corridor. She ran toward freedom, toward life, toward friends and family. But she was leaving her heart and soul back there in the cavern. He was lying on the floor, dying alone, breathing his last breath, and crying tears that no one would probably never know about. 


	32. Darkness Falls

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, or the evil older brother thing, as I got that off of Escaflowne, which I don't own. Also I don't own Legend of Dragoon, or any of its characters, where I got the idea for the armor. I don't own the idea of the unbinding, as it was inspired by that C/H moment on Spirited Away, which I, sadly, don't own.  
  
^NO "Order of The Phoenix" events included.^  
  
^I can't tell if I quoted Dumbledore correctly, someone help!^  
  
^I'm having a writer's block of major preportions. If you have read my story: Saiyajin Soul, please help me. I need an idea for the next chapter. If I like your idea, I'll use it and give you credit.^  
  
^Thanks to all my reviewers, it means a lot to me to see reviews in my mailbox. BTW, I've been thinking about a 125th reviewer contest, but everyone does those, oh well, I doubt I'd get that many reviews anyways.^  
  
^A Special thank you goes out to TheaterQueen and I mean it! It feels nice when I get a review that says I'm a great writer. Also, you're no redundant when you say you like a chapter of my story. Feel free to say that any time you review.^  
  
^And not to ruin your moment in the spotlight, TheaterQueen, but a thanks out to everyone who's ever said I was a good writer.^  
  
Chapter Thirty Two  
  
Harry laid his head back in defeat as Hermione ran down the tunnel and out of sight. He closed his eyes slowly and thought of everything they had been through, either together or with Ron acoompanying them. The castle started to fall to pieces around him, but Harry hardly noticed, as he relived the past six years of his life.  
  
The Troll, the Giant Chess Board, the Sorceror's Stone, and Voldemort in the first year. The Camber of Secrets, finding out he was a Parselmouth, the Basilisk, and Tom Riddle during the second year. Sirius's escape, seeing the Grim, which turned out to be Sirius in Animagus form, and Buckbeak's rescue in the third year. The Triwizard Tournament, Cedric Diggory's death, and seeing the Quiddich World Cup during the fourth year.  
  
Then there was the things that he alone had endured. Losing his parents at one, growing up at the Dursleys, and fighting Voldemort. Disappearing during fifth year, only to be trained by a group of magical animals known as the Council of Great Powers. And now he laid here, at sixteen years of age, as a King, half Draconian, father-to-be, and he was dying.  
  
"Y-you must escape..."  
  
His train of memories interrupted, Harry's eyes shot open and he turned his head to the side. His eyes landed on his brother, who was conscious and crawling toward him.   
  
"Y-you have to lead our people..." he choked out, sounding different from before, "And you have a family to take care of..."  
  
Harry tried to answer him, but found that he couldn't talk. He tried to move, but he couldn't even blink. Finally Raze got to Harry's side and looked him directly in the eyes. Harry suddenly realized that Raze was gone and in his place was his real brother, David Potter. David stared at him in confusion before it finally dawned on him.  
  
"Y-you can't move anything, can you?"  
  
Harry tried to say yes, but all that came out was a choking noise. With shaking hands, David raised himself to a sitting position. He placed his hands over Harry and then looked him in the eye.  
  
"By the good that beats in my heart, unbind this man," he commanded.  
  
His hands glowed white for a second and Harry could feel his body once more. David gave a shaky smile and reached out a hand to Harry. Harry gratefully took it and slowly the two helped each other to their feet. David threw one of Harry's arms across his shoulders and began to walk toward the secret room. The brothers stopped long enough to grab up both of their swords and then they boldly stepped into the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Stepping into that room was like stepping through a curtain of pure evil. It made their bodies burn with pain, but that didn't stop either of them. As they stood in front of the Heart of Darkness, its dark glow seemed to become brighter (*.* Is that possible?), as if gloating its victory. Harry and David exchanged looks. The battle was nowhere near over yet.  
  
"My sword was forged with a flame of darkness," David stated softly, "Your sword was forged with a flame of light. It is the only sword here that can destroy the Heart of Darkness."  
  
"No," Harry replied with great difficulty, "Gryffindor's sword is still in its sheathe. You can use it to help me destroy this thing of darkness once and for all."  
  
"Together to the end, huh, brother?" David asked with a grin.  
  
"To the end and to the beginning," Harry replied with the same grin and unsheathed the Gryffindor Sword, "As a great man I know once said 'To the well organized mind, death is merely the beginning of another journey.'"  
  
"Then let us begin our journey," David stated as he took the sword from Harry, "We sacrifice our lives for the future of everyone else."  
  
"For the future of the children I shall never know!" Harry cried, referring to the twins that rested within Hermione's womb, and raised his sword into the air in a salute.  
  
"To the life, and family, I shall never know!" David cried out and also raised his sword in salute, "Let our blood flow strong with our fate! Let our swords be mighty and our wings be quick! And let the Draconian Kings of before lend us the swiftness of their wings!"  
  
With that long battle cry the two launched forward, sinking into the Heart of Darkness, which had to be destroyed from the inside out.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
(wildkat: I was thinking of ending it here, but I'm just not that mean.  
  
Dragon: Besides it would have been way too short.  
  
wildkat: Stuff it.  
  
Dragon: No!  
  
wildkat: I wonder what a used dragon goes for on Ebay?  
  
Dragon: You wouldn't!  
  
wildkat: Now what catagory would a Dragon go under on Ebay?...oh well, here's the rest of the chapter...)  
  
Sorry felt like doing a small interval.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Hospital Wing in Hogwarts was over flowing with wounded Elves, Wizards, and Witches. The wounded were transported to Hogwarts' Hospital Wing and fresh soldiers to the battle. The fight had restarted the moment a large army of Death Eaters and Oblins had appeared just inside of the Elven City. To help with the battle, which was quickly becoming a full-scale war, the Elven King and Dumbledore had worked together and created a portal between the Elven Kingdom and Hogwarts.  
  
The wounded Elves had insisted that Hermione be tended to first. She politely refused to be looked after until the badly injured, which were few in number thanks to their superb training, were taken care of. After that she was tended to by Madame Pomfrey, who looked tired.  
  
Hermione was okay with the exception of a few bruises and cuts. This was because of Harry shielding her, that she had been spared from any serious injuries. The twins she carried were perfectly alright as well thanks to both of their parents. Harry had been correct about the baby actually being twins. Madame Pomfrey had absolutely no idea as to why the second child hadn't shown up on the Ultrasounds before now.  
  
(AN: Just work with me, ok?)  
  
Now Hermione was pacing in anxiety as she awaited Harry's return. One of her hands was placed, unconsciously, on her stomach. She thought of Harry and prayed that he had found some way of getting out of the crumbling, underground, fortess slash castle. She wanted-no she needed-him to be there for her and their children.  
  
She knew it was selfish of her, but right then she didn't care about image. She just wanted Harry back with her. She need him to take her in his arms, kiss away her worries, and tell her that everything was going to turn out alright. She didn't want the twins to grow up without their father.  
  
"Miss Granger!" Madame Pomfrey cried out, both in worry and in agitation, "You must stop pacing at once and sit, or lie, down immediately! All this activity at this stage in your pregnancy could end in disastrous consequences for both you and the twins!"  
  
Hermione was too worried about Harry to consider sitting down, much less, lying, but the lives of her children were at stake. Hermione sighed in resignation and sat down in a nearby chair.  
  
"We'll keep an eye out for him," Professor Dumbledore stated softly, "And I'll tell you when we get word about his current status."  
  
Right after he said that, a Elven messenger burst through the Hospital Doors. He saluted both Hermione and the Queen and then collapsed to his knees in exhaustion. Hermione, Altecia and Madame Pomfrey went to help him out, but he refused to be treated until he had said his long message.  
  
"The battle is turning in our favor..." he panted out, "The King has been wounded by one of the cloaked enemy...But there are two Draconians protecting him...More Draconians have arrived and they are assisting in battling back the enemy...They claim to be our Allies...At the request of their King...There is a very powerful, armor wearing, Draconian fighting against the invaders. Can't see much of him, except for a pair of blood red wings..."  
  
And with his message delivered, he fell over dead.  
  
"Blood red wings?!" Altecia repeated, shocked.  
  
"What could it mean?" Hermione asked her mother.  
  
"I don't know," Altecia replied, "I've never seen or heard of a Draconian with blood red wings before now."  
  
"I have."  
  
All three turned toward Dumbledore with looks of shock on their faces.  
  
"There has been only one other in recorded history," he stated softly, "The King who used the "Starlight Fire" attack, wiping out over three thousand troops at once. The only time the King had ever used that attack was during that fight. He had just been very badly wounded and the attack drained, what little he had left, his life from his body.  
  
"The enemy killed his wife, unborn child, brother and his family, the King's eldest daughter, and his heir son to the throne. Only one was spared, the King's youngest child, his three year old daughter, Harry's ancestor. The King did not know she survive, so believing that his entire family was dead, he used the attack that killed him in the process."  
  
"Would Harry use that attack?" Hermione asked fearfully, "If he is the one that survived?"  
  
"Quite probably," Dumbledore replied softly, "But not possible."  
  
"Why not?" Altecia asked out, not sounding like a Queen, but instead the Muggle woman that Hermione had known her as while she was growing up.  
  
"Because the magical force, of the red-winged Draconian, that I feel is neither Harry nor his brother, David Potter," Dumbledore replied softly.  
  
Hermione immediately burst out in tears.  
  
'Harry's dead!' she mentally screamed, 'Oh, God, no! He's dead and this time, he's not coming back!'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N: have no fear my loyal reviewers, this is not the end. No, this is just a Cliffe! Just be patient with me and I'll put up a new chapter, but I'm seriously considering ending the story at chapter 35. This was supposed to be only fifteen chapters long and now it's doubled and still going. 


	33. Ties of Emotion

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter J.K. Rowling does. I also do not the concept of Draconians, the evil older brother thing, or Van and Hitomi, as I got all of that off of Escaflowne, which I don't own. Also I don't own Legend of Dragoon, or any of its characters, where I got the idea for the armor. I don't own the name, or description of, Rhapsody, as I got that from the book "Rhapsody", which I don't own. I also do not own the baby's name, as I got that off of LOTR, which I don't own.  
  
^No "Order of The Phoenix" events included.^  
  
#Sound#  
  
*Talking on comm. line*  
  
^actions while speaking^  
  
"talking"  
  
'Thinking'  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Replies to Reviewers  
  
debbie(): Thanks a lot! I'm working on it as fast as I can.  
  
sew2100: Thanks, I think. I'm not familiar with Butch and Sudance, but thanks for reviewing.  
  
ranger2: Thanks. I'm working on it already.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter Thirty Three  
  
Ties of emotion  
  
Hermione wanted to faint, oh God how she wanted to faint. Here she was four months pregnant and she had just learned that Harry was dead. Plus she had no idea if both her brother and her father were both alright. To add to the disaster further, Ginny, Ron, and Lavender appeared in the Medical Wing.  
  
None of the three were injured, but they had recieved word that Hermione was there. Plus, they had seen the hundreds of Elves, humans-Draconians with their wings hidden, Wizards, Witches, and winged people-wounded Draconians who couldn't retract their wings, being taken to the Hospital Wing.  
  
When the three friends came upon the scene in the Hospital Ward, Dumbledore had just announced that he didn't feel Harry's magic any more and Hermione-a pregnant Hermione-had burst out crying. The Queen of Elves rushed to her side to comfort her, but Hermione wouldn't be comforted.  
  
"He's dead!" she sobbed out, "He's not coming back!"  
  
"We don't know for sure whether or not he is dead!" Altecia yelled out, "We won't until a connection gets through!"  
  
After seeing all of this, remembering what Dumbledore had said, the idea that his best friend could be dead, and the fact that his other best friend had been reduced to a pregnant, sobbing, mess, was more than enough for Ronald Weasley. So he did the one thing he could think of at the moment...he turned around and ran. He ran out the doors, through most of the school, and collapsed near the pond.  
  
What he didn't know was that the portal was near the lake. He heard the sounds of fighting coming from nearby the deadly tree and turned toward it. He was shocked to see a glass surface, like that of a mirror, but rippled like the water on the pond. It looked like sort of doorway and it was where a tree's trunk used to be.  
  
There was a temporary lull in the fighting and so everything was still. Ron couldn't believe what he saw. The once beautiful land was nothing more that an endless field of death and blood. Broken, bloody, and torn, the corpses and wounded littered the ground as far as the eye could see. There were a few tending to the wounded, but the dead were left where they had fallen.  
  
Suddenly, movement was caught out of the corner of his eye and Ron sucked in a breath as a young, female, Elf, who looked to be his age, came running his way. In Ron's opinion, the World's Ugliest Creature was chasing her. Every few minutes she would looked down at a bundle in her arms and then back up at the portal. Ron began to sweat, she was nearly there, but the creature was gaining on her quickly.  
  
'Come on!' Ron mentally urged her.  
  
'No!' he mentally yelled, when he saw her about to trip over a body.  
  
"Look out!" her cried out, but it was too late.  
  
She didn't hear him or see the body in time, tripped, and fell. The force of the fall added to how fast she was running caused the bundle to go flying out of her arms and into the air. She gasped in horror and then screamed as another Creature raised it's sword, preparing to cut the bundle in two as it started to fall toward the ground.  
  
But then, a red winged human-a Draconian-flew down, caught the bundle, which was actually a baby, and cradled it to its chest. Then he gave the baby over to another winged human, this one a woman, who flew toward Ron. Ron reached into the portal to take the baby from the woman, but she flew through the portal. She landed on the ground with the child crying in her arms.  
  
Ron watched as the wings disappeared in a cascade of feathers, leaving her looking like a normal human. Then the two turned back to the portal and saw that the female Elf was now being carried by another winged person-a man-and he looked angry for some reason. The red-winged man stayed behind to fight the two creatures and easily defeated them.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
The male Draconian, who had come through the portal with the female Elf, growled angrily as he set her down.  
  
"I hate this stupid war!" he growled out, "I've seen too many already! I wish this one would end soon!"  
  
Then his face softened as he felt the girl tremble.  
  
"Come on," the female Draconian commanded him, "Let's get these two to the infirmary, that is if they have one."  
  
"They do," Ron piped up, "I go to school here. I can show you the way."  
  
"Then lead on MacDuff," the woman stated.  
  
"What?" Ron replied, confused.  
  
"Show us the way!" the man snapped in reply.  
  
"Oh, right," Ron sighed, "Follow me."  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
As soon as the four stepped into the door, the Elf rushed toward two familiar women, with the child in her arms.  
  
"Your Majesties!"  
  
Altecia and Hermione turned around at this and saw the distraught girl coming their way, holding a baby.  
  
"Rhapsody!" Altecia cried out, "You're alive!"  
  
"Yes," she replied, "Both little Legolas and I managed to get away."  
  
"Salavan will be joyed to hear this," Altecia stated softly and laid a hand on Rhapsody's shoulder, "It was thought that you, Catelin, and Legolas perished while trying to avoid the intense fighting. Salavan will be joyed to hear that both his sister and his son survived. I am joyed to know that both of you are alright, but where is Catelin?"  
  
Rhapsody hung her head, tears instantly formed in her deep blue eyes, which was hidden by her long, curly, blond, hair.  
  
"She-she didn't make it," Rhapsody choked out, "One of those ugly monsters ran her through before any help could arrive. With the last of her breath, she told me to take Legolas and run, and also she asked me to tell Salavan goodbye, and that she loves him, for her. If it hadn't been for these   
  
three-^she stopped and gestured toward the two Draconians and Ron^ here and another Draconian, one with blood-red wings, neither I nor Legolas would have survived. I wouldn't have been able to fulfill Catelin's last requests."  
  
Altecia looked over at Ron and the two Draconians.  
  
"Oh my-" she started and then stopped herself.  
  
"It's been a while, Van de Fanel, King of Fanelia," she stated softly, using formality at the moment.  
  
"It has, Lady Altecia, Queen of the Elven Tribes," Van replied softly, also using formality, "I'd like to introduce my wife of only a year, Hitomi Kanazaki de Fanel, Queen of Fanelia."  
  
"It is an honor, Hitomi," Altecia stated softly and inclinded her head in a show of respect.  
  
"I assure you, Lady Altecia," Hitomi replied softly, also inclining her head, "The honor is all mine."  
  
"And who might this young woman be?" Van asked out softly, looking Hermione directly in the eyes, before his eyes widened in surprise, "No way! It's Lady Hermione!"  
  
"Have we met?" Hermione asked him, confused.  
  
"We've met," Hitomi replied, "In the Tokyo train station."  
  
"I remember," Hermione suddenly stated, "I was but a child of four when we met as Muggles. That's when I saw him."  
  
Hitomi's eyes widened. "You saw Folken as well?!"  
  
"I did."  
  
"Well, I hate to butt in," Altecia suddenly stated softly, "But we finally managed to get a connection to someone back at the Kingdom."  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
*Hello......Hello......Can anyone hear me?* a frantic voice asked out, pleading, over the line.  
  
"Who's there?" Altecia replied into what looked like a headphone set connected to a CD/boombox player, which was powered by both Wizard/Witch magic and Elven magic.  
  
*This,* a newer, calmer voice came on, *Is Prince Salavan.*  
  
"Good to hear from you, son," Altecia replied.  
  
*Mother?! Where are you?! Are you alright?! Is Hermione with you?! Is she okay?! Has anyone reported about Catelin, Legolas, or Rhapsody?!*  
  
"I'm here at Hogwarts and I'm fine. Yes, Hermione is with me and she's okay as can be considering that Harry's reported as dead. And someone has reported about Catelin, Legolas, and Rhapsody."  
  
*Who? What was the report?!*  
  
Altecia turned to Rhapsody.  
  
"You better tell him."  
  
Rhapsody handed her the baby and took the headset with shaking hands.  
  
"H-Hello?"  
  
*Rhapsody?! Is that you?!*  
  
"Yes."  
  
*Where's Catelin?!*  
  
"She-she didn't make it," Rhapsody choked out, repeating herself from earlier, "One of those ugly monsters you are fighting, ran her through before any help could arrive. With the last of her breath, she told me to take Legolas and run, and also she asked me to tell you goodbye and that she loves you, for her. If it hadn't been for a human and four Draconians, one with blood-red wings, neither I nor Legolas would have survived. I wouldn't have been able to fulfill Catelin's last requests or tell you this."  
  
Suddenly screams came over the line and Altecia snatched the headphones back from Rhapsody.  
  
"What's going on!?"  
  
*He's...here...* someone unknown rasped out.  
  
"Who is!?" Altecia cried out, "Who?!"  
  
*Volde-*  
  
The voice replying was cut off and a explosion took its place. Then the sound of a familiar evil laugh was heard comming over the line.  
  
*Come out, come out, wherever you are, little Potter,* Voldemort sang in a mocking tone, just barely being heard over the commotion, *It's time we finished it once and for all.*  
  
Then there was another very close explosion and then only silence on the other side. 


	34. The Final Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own the following: Harry Potter, Escaflowne, Legend of Dragoon, the book: "Rhapsody", Lord of The Rings, Princess Mononoke, or any of their characters. I do not own the Greek God named Apollo or any of the information attached to him. I don't know if the attack, 'Soul Cleanser' is anyone's attack, so if it is, I don't own it.  
  
^No "Order of The Phoenix" events included.^  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Replies to Reviewers:  
  
ranger2: Thanks for the review.  
  
debbie(): Thanks for the review. I'm good at cliffhangers, well...uh-thanks.  
  
Moo moo cow(): Thanks for the review. Oh, and to your plea...Maybe ;) and if it is him, Voldie, as you so nicely put, will be going down.  
  
athenakitty: Thanks for reviewing and as I just said to Moo moo cow(), maybe ;) and even if Harry doesn't come back, Voldie, as you also so nicely put, will be defeated-prophecy or no prophecy.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
#Sound#  
  
*Talking on comm. line*  
  
^actions while speaking^  
  
"talking"  
  
'Thinking'  
  
/Memory and/or Flashback/  
  
WARNING: I'm not good a fight scenes of any type, whether this or in my DBZ fic, Saiyajin Soul, which has been on, and is still, on hiatus right now due to a major Writer's Block.  
  
WARNING 2: DUE TO ADULT LANGUAGE, THE RATING OF THIS CHAPTER IS NOW PG-13.  
  
Chapter Thirty Four  
  
The Final Battle  
  
And the Truth  
  
"Come out, come out, wherever you are, little Potter," Voldemort sing-songed out, in a mocking tone, "It's time we finished this foolish business once and for all."  
  
Voldemort's eyes scanned the ruins and the battlefield, looking for the one little boy, who had been a thorn in his side for way too long. Voldemort growled angrily as he saw nothing. There was no sign of Potter and none of his Death Eaters had reported him being in any of the numerous small battles that were currently happening. The only problem Voldemort had right then were just a few pockets of resisting Draconians and Elves scattered around here and there.  
  
"Fine!" Voldemort growled out angry, almost to no one, "If you won't come out willingly, then I'll make you come out!"  
  
Voldemort reached down, grabbed the closest, wounded, Elf by the throat, and hauled him up from the rubble. He smirked as he saw just who he was holding out in front of him like a half-living shield.  
  
"See this pitiful Elf?!" he yelled out, knowing that Potter could probably see and hear him from wherever the little coward was hiding, "If you don't come out and fight me, preferably in the next few minutes, I'll crush the pathetic creature's windpipe!  
  
"Then his death, and his blood, will be on your hands, Potter! Just like all the other deaths you caused! Think about it! That boy back when I was reborn, your worthless parents, and your mongrel Godfather! Oh, and then there's the trivial matter of you Mudblood Whore, your unborn brats, and all the other deaths to come!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Far above Voldemort, a certain red-winged Draconian saw-pardon the pun-red, as Voldemort yelled all that out. The Draconian slightly calmed down once he saw just who Voldemort had in a death-grip, Prince Salavan. He growled out angrily, torn between letting the smug prince have it and not letting Harry down and knowing he help cause Hermione's heart to break when she heard her brother was dead.  
  
(A/N-it's mononotous to keep typing 'The Draconian', so from now on he will be called Red until his real identy is revealed.)  
  
Red shook his head and deliberately started to fall in what seemed to be a totally reckless dive. He drew his sword when he had fallen about half-way to Voldemort. Red saw his quarry standing there, back to him, not even noticing his approach. He landed in front of Voldemort with his sword drawn and ready to battle.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Voldemort turned and tossed Salavan aside like he was a piece of trash.  
  
"Ah, there you are Potter-What?! You're not Potter!"  
  
"Very preceptive of you Voldemort!" Red yelled out in a multifaceted tone, sounding like a very pissed off dragon speaking in human tongue, "You have tormented innocents for the last time! No longer will I allow you to hurt or kill anyone else! Whether they be innocent or one of your followers, you will never take, nor ruin, another person's life ever again!"  
  
With that, he folded his wings against his back and charged, aiming for Voldemort's neck. Voldemort fired the killing curse in response to the angry attack. Red dodged the first curse easily and kept charging forward even as Voldemort shot curse after curse off, missing each and every time. Red held his sword out in front of him, ready to slice Voldemort's head off.  
  
Voldemort would deny Red the pleasure of seeing him fall down dead. Instead he, seeing that magic of such small caliber wouldn't work on his opponent, tossed his wand aside. Voldemort reached down to his own sheathed sword and quickly drew it. Red let out a string of oathes, as the sword, which had once belonged to Salazar Slytherin, shone out in the light, as it was freed from the black leather sheathe.  
  
Voldemort took this surprised string of curses as a good sign. He smirked, stood his ground, and parried the sword. As the stranger's sword met the Sword of Slytherin, a golden glow erupted from the meeting blades and surround the two. It was just like the reaction when two spells, from the brother wands, met.  
  
Voldemort struck out with the sword and narrowly missed taking Red's sword arm off. In response to the threat, Red quickly opened his wings and took to the sky. Voldemort seemed to actually be happy that Red had reacted like that, as he smirked as he looked up at his airborne opponent.  
  
"Now, that isn't very fair," he stated coldly, "Coward are we? Well, I'll just have to even the playing field a little."  
  
And with that, Voldemort's robe, and shirt, fell to shreds around him. Red gaped in shock, as a set of, pure black, Draconian wings appeared out of Voldemort's back.  
  
'Shit!' Red mentally screamed, 'No one told me he was a Draconian!'  
  
"I know what you're thinking!" Voldemort called out in the same tone he had used earlier, "'How can he be a Draconian?!'. Well, you see, I am the son of Uns de Fallen!"  
  
'One of Fallen?' Red repeated in his mind, really confused, 'Where have I head that before?'  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
/Flashback/  
  
An old man sighed as he turned toward a figure sitting, in a chair, in front of the fireplace in his room.  
  
"I am going to tell you a legend that not many of your kind know about. It is called 'The Forbidden Tale' and it is called that because it tells of one of your race's biggests shames. It is about the origins of the one they call 'Uns de Fallen', which translates to 'One of Fallen'.  
  
"A very long time ago, the Draconian Race had a glorious leader by the name of Apollo. -"  
  
"Like the Greek God of the Sun?" the figure asked, interrupting.  
  
"Yes," the old man replied and sighed, "Now the story... A very long time ago, the Draconian Race had a glorious leader by the name of Apollo. He was loved by his people and adored by thousands. No other country or Kingdom were his enemies and all were his allies. He carried the very sword that is now known as the Starlight Fire Sword.  
  
"Even as a child, he possessed the potential for becoming one of the most powerful Draconians to have ever lived. Though he was loved by nearly all of his people, many of them believed that their King carried the seed of evil deep within him. It would be far too late for them when they realized that they were tragically right.  
  
"So greedy did he become with power that he murdered his entire family to become King. Though he killed his own family, it could not be proven and so he assumed the throne. Over time he developed what would now be called a spilt personality. His bad personality plotted for years to get more power and secretly he made a pact with a band of Elves. His good personality loved his people, the woman he married, and his children.  
  
"These two personalities fought each other for control of him, making him suffer constant headaches. Late one night, the bad personality won the struggle with his good personality, and let the band into the Kingdom. To make a long story short, it was a bloody massacre, Apollo was betrayed by the remaining members of the band of Elves and found out by his most loyal band of guards.  
  
"As punishment, he was stripped of everything he had-lands, titles, money, friends, etc.-everything. He was given nothing but the simplest of peasant robes and exiled from the Kingdom. His son, who had secretly hated his father, Demetry, took the throne. Demetry ruled as his father had done before the poison of the bad personality had taken over his mind.  
  
"The Kingdom prospered and grew with each passing year. It florished until one dark, and stormy, night. Fires started to spread across the lands, villages were destroyed, crops ruined, and the people were murdered. Amidst the choas caused by the attacks, an army of Elves appeared. They were behind the attacks and behind the army was the Elven King himself.  
  
"Furious over the unprovoked attacks, Demetry called upon his own people to fight. For twenty-one days and nights, the two armies clashed with no end in sight. Then, on day thirty-two, horrible news arrived that Demetry's family had been massacred by vengance seeking Elves. The rest of the story you akready know."  
  
"So," the figure slowly began, "Demetry is the son of the Fallen One, which makes me-"  
  
"Yes, which makes you the direct descendant of Apollo, The Fallen One. He has other descendants though-mostly from when he was exiled and still unstable. So be careful of what you say and who you tell."  
  
/End of Flashback/  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Red smirked. "You cannot be his direct descendant."  
  
Voldemort smirked right back at him. "And why do you say that?"  
  
Red's smirk became a grin. "Because, I am Demetry's direct descendant!"  
  
Voldemort roared in anger and flew toward Red, who dove downwards in response. He fell for some time, but sraightened out when he was countless feet below Voldemort.  
  
"I summon the Golden Phoenix, Sun Dancer!"  
  
A real, live, Golden Phoenix suddenly appeared next to the young man and it began to sing.  
  
Voldemort couldn't stand hearing the song of a phoenix. To him it was like hearing nails on a chalkboard. So he folded his wings, fell until he was even with Red, and then opened his wings back up before attacking. Blow after blow was met and parried, neither one getting the upper edge. The Phoenix had yet to quit singing and Voldemort was about to go insane. After exchanging blow after blow, nearly insane, and getting nowhere fast, Voldemort decided enough was enough.  
  
"One Hit Duel!" Voldemort yelled out as he lande.  
  
"Accepted!" Red yelled back and also landed.  
  
The two opponents charged forward, exchanged blows, and landed facing away from each other. The Draconian grunted in pain and fell onto his knees. Voldemort smirked in triumph before he felt a burning sensation and looked down. He had scarcely begun to scream, in anger or pain, before his body, and evil soul, burned away, finally killing him for once and for all. Not any one of the witnesses would ever know what had truely happened.  
  
"Soul Cleanser," the Draconian whispered out to no one in particular.  
  
He staggered toward the portal, not caring that the battle was finally over. The phoenix followed him, but he did not care nor notice. 


	35. Many Reunions

Disclaimer: I do not own the following: Harry Potter, Escaflowne, Legend of Dragoon, the book: 'Rhapsody', Lord of The Rings, Princess Mononoke, or any of their characters. I don't own the saying 'did anyone get the license plate of the truck that hit me?'. I do not own the concept of 'the Alpha and the Omega', don't know who does, but it ain't me...@.@-Can you own something like that or is it unownable?  
  
^No "Order of The Phoenix" events included.^  
  
^100 points to anyone who can tell me who the old man, in the flashback, was in the last chapter.^  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Replies to Reviewers:  
  
David M. Potter: thanks for the review.  
  
giggling_gal_sim: thanks for the review. Oh, and there is more.  
  
ThestralGirl003(): All I can say is...WOW. That has to be like THE longest review I have ever gotten. Oh, and not to sound like a braggart, but I didn't learn to write like that, I was born to write fanfiction. I won't directly give away anything that has to do with Harry, but take a look downwards and you'll be one happy reviewer ;). I'll try to post soon, but I have too many stories up at once with writer's blocks on most of them, so it'll be hard to update any time soon.  
  
athenakitty: *looks at athenakitty exasperatedly and then rubs bridge of her nose.* Athena...can I call you that-No? Oh well. Athenakitty...honey, and I mean that in a friendly, non-weird, way...you completely lost me. First off Demetry is dead and Red, as I called my character in the last chapter, is his descendant and not Demetry himself. Second, when I have Voldemort saying 'See this pitiful Elf?!' and 'I'll crush the pathetic creature's windpipe!' I'm referring to the type of Elf that Legolas, from 'Lord of the Rings', is, not a House Elf. Thanks for the review anyway and please continue reading.  
  
debbie(): Thanks for the review. Yeah, I'm glad that Voldemort's finally gone too.  
  
ranger2: Thanks for the review.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
#Sound#  
  
*Talking on comm. line*  
  
^Actions while speaking^  
  
"Talking"  
  
'Thinking'  
  
(*Memory/Flashback*)  
  
{Dragon Speaking}  
  
: Eagle talking :  
  
* Wolf Speaking *  
  
- Lion Speaking -  
  
(Griffin talking)  
  
Chapter Thirty-Five  
  
The Aftermath  
  
Hermione gasped as she felt like something had just lightly squeezed her heart, but only for a mere fraction of a second.  
  
'Could it be Harry?' she thought with a bit of hope, but then squashed it, 'Forget it! Harry's dead, remember!?'  
  
Hermione's eyes wandered around the room taking in everyone who was there besides the patients. She saw her mother having a heated conversation with Professor Dumbledore over something. She saw Ginny, who was seated at the window, looking out at the Hogwarts grounds. Madame Pomfrey was bustling about, checking on patients and visitors alike.  
  
Rhapsody was sitting in a corner of the room, holding the Elf baby named Legolas. Professor MacGonagal was studying her every move as if she was some sort of fascinating type of creature. Hagrid wouldn't have fit into the Infirmary with so many patients and visitors already in there, but he would send an owl about once every half an hour.  
  
Lavender was sitting next to Ron, was sitting in a chair, by the window, just staring off into space. From the looks of things, Ron was completely oblivious to everything happening around him. Hermione figured that the Hogwarts castle could have fallen in around him and he probably never would have even noticed.  
  
"Look!" Ginny suddenly gasped out, interrupting Hermione's thoughts, and pointed at something outside the window.  
  
Altecia, Ron, Lavender, Hermione, Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey, and Professor MacGonagal rushed to the window. They saw a form step out of the portal and almost fall to its knees, but it used a sword to support its body like one would use a cane. A golden phoenix came out of the portal shortly after and perched on the stranger's shoulder. Hermione felt the sensation once more and she finally understood.  
  
The flame in Hermione's eyes came back to life and, before anyone could stop her, she was out of the Hospital Wing's doors. She ran, as fast as she could in her condition, through the halls and out of the entrance doors. She ran toward the figure and gasped as she saw him in the light of the sun. He looked so much like Harry, and yet at the same time, he didn't.  
  
He was a little bit taller than Harry, but he had Harry's hair and eyes. There was no lightning bolt scar present on his forehead. A long, deep, cut sliced across the left side of his face. Whatever had caused the wound had barely missed the eye itself, while cutting him from the temple, across the bridge of his nose, and stopped halfway down his right cheek.  
  
Battle scared, blood covered, maroon armor covered his body, blood red wings were drooped with fatigue, and his body seemed terribly weak from both exhaustion and major blood loss. Wounds, and blood-both green and red, covered him where the armor had not protected him enough. There were a few cracks in and a lot of scratches across the battle-damaged armor.  
  
The sword, the very one that he was using for a crutch, was slightly familiar to Hermione. Maybe it was because looked like a melding of the two swords Harry carried, and one other sword, and maybe not. Not only did it have Godric Gryffindor inscribed in the blade, but it carried the Draconian Royal Crest, which was also the Evan's family crest, in the hilt.  
  
The name of Godric Gryffindor was inscribed, in gold lettering, on one side of the blade. Inscribed, in blood red lettering, on the other side of the blade was a saying, in Elven, which was roughly translated into 'I am neither light nor shadow'. The royal crest was unchanged from its gold, black and red colors, but the sword's blade was black and white swirled together-a mixture of darkness and light.  
  
"Harry?" she choked out, scared that it wasn't him.  
  
The young man raised his head slowly, weakly, and stared into her eyes. There was a familiar look in his eyes, as he looked into her own. Hermione gasped as she saw two sets of emerald eyes looking back at her. The pair she was looking through and a second pair right behind the first, but this set of eyes was more of a spiritual sight than a physical one.  
  
Hermione could almost see an unfamiliar scene being played in them. She couldn't quite make out what she was seeing. Suddenly she felt herself being pulled into the eyes much like how described being pulled into a pensive...  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
~~~?????? POV~~~  
  
......It's so dark...... It this Death?...... Where am I?...... Who am I?...... Why am I here?...... I remember...... A face of unsurpassed beauty...... My Mione......  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Normal POV  
  
Hermione gasped, like she hadn't breathed in hours, as she came back to consciousness, only five minutes later, and then sat there, sobbing. She could remember everything that had happed to her after being pulled in by those eyes. Without thinking twice, Hermione threw her arms around the stranger neck and hugged him.  
  
Just as she did, a bright light surrounded the young man. Hermione let go in fright and watched in amazement as the glowing like split into two. Slowly the light dissipated and two unconscious, wingless, forms were shown. One was wearing blood red armor and the other was wearing pure black armor.  
  
"Hermione!"  
  
Hermione turned around as she heard her mother yell her name. Everyone who had been at the windows seemed to appear out of nowhere. As soon as they saw the two forms, most stopped dead with shocked looks on their faces. Wasting no time, Dumbledore levitated the two forms onto separate beds. Dumbledore smiled as the phoenix followed the floating figure in the black armor.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Two days later...  
  
Harry Potter groaned as he sat up and immediately regretted it.  
  
"Sun Dancer?" he groaned out.  
  
The golden phoenix sung out in response and Harry nodded only once.  
  
"Okay, okay!" he cried out, cringing, in pain, at the volume, as he stared at the phoenix, "I understand!"  
  
Slowly Harry became aware of someone lying next to him, looked down, and smiled. Lying there, holding onto him very tightly, was Hermione and she wasn't about to let him go. He noticed the dried tear trails on her cheeks and realized that he had made her cry again.  
  
'Harry, you idiot!' he berated himself and then decided to crack a joke, 'You're setting a record for making an angel cry.'  
  
"Salazar, Merlin, and Godric!" he heard his brother suddenly exclaim, "My head! Who got the license plate of the truck that hit me!?"  
  
"Was it a dump truck or just a regular eighteen wheeler?" Harry asked him jokingly, trying to ignore his own throbbing head.  
  
As if understanding Harry's thoughts, Sun Dancer began to sing. Slowly the pain in his head diminished and then disappeared all together. Just as it did, the past few days came back with a vengeance. Meeting Hermione's real parents, fighting, and losing to, Salavan, fighting in countless battles, and then finally defeating Voldemort.  
  
"We did it!" he cried out in realization.  
  
"Did what?" David replied with a groan.  
  
"Defeated Voldemort!" Harry cried out, "Do you realize what this means?!"  
  
"A life without fear?" David suggested sheepishly, not knowing such a life, since he had spent almost all of his being evil.  
  
"Among other things!" Harry replied and then smiled down at Hermione.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
/Dream Sequence.../  
  
She was seeing a group of animals, seated on a raised platform, looking down at her. There were only five animals, a Dragon, an Eagle, a Wolf, a Lion, and even a Griffin. She shivered as she looked up at the animals who were, in turn, looking down at her.  
  
A large, black, female, dragon stared down at her, with calculating eyes, from the center. A white wolf growled at her from the right of the dragon. A griffin and a lion stared at her from next to, and to the far left of, the wolf. An eagle sat, perched at the Dragon's left side. There was an empty space at the end of the stage, where another animal could be seated.  
  
Hermione suddenly felt as if she was under judgment for a crime that she had committed, but did not remember ever doing.  
  
{So, you came here on your own, small one,} the dragon stated gently.  
  
"No, ma'am," she replied, "I was sent here when I looked into a familiar pair of emerald green eyes."  
  
(Then you must have met the boy we trained,) the Griffin stated proudly.  
  
"You are the ones who gave him all those scars?!"  
  
:Yes and no,: the eagle replied calmly. :It was his own foolishness, which distracted him during training, that gave him those scars.:  
  
"But still-"  
  
The dragon sighed exasperatedly, breathing hot air on Hermione and causing her to stop in mid-sentence.  
  
{You must be girl who was supposed to come with him} the dragon stated softly, {But did not}.  
  
-Didn't he tell you anything?!- the lion roared at her.  
  
"Tell me what?"  
  
*That foolish boy! He was supposed to tell you about your intertwined destiny after he returned from here!* The wolf snarled angrily.  
  
(Now, now, White Blizzard,) started the Griffin very casually, (The boy is just a pup. He has much to learn in the ways of the Power. Can you not see that the boy loves this girl just as much as that other human boy loves your adopted, human, granddaughter?)  
  
*You will keep them out of this, Silver Wing!*  
  
{Not now you two! Save it for when we aren't busy!} the dragon angrily retorted, {We need to send her back.}  
  
"Will I remember this?"  
  
(Yes,) Silver Wing replied, (All of it.)  
  
*Now,* began White Blizzard before she leapt straight at Hermione and snapped her jaws shut mere inches from Hermione's face, *WAKE UP!*  
  
/Abrupt Ending of Dream/  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione's eyes flew open in a panic and bolted upright. She barely registered the fact that there was a warm body next to her or that someone was holding her gently.   
  
"What's wrong, Moine?" Harry asked her softly, concern dripping from his voice and his emerald green eyes flashing worry.  
  
"Oh, Harry, it was terr-" Hermione started hysterically and then stopped dead and blinked a couple times.  
  
"Harry!" she shrieked in happiness and almost pounced on him, but then suddenly remembered her condition and stopped herself.  
  
Harry saw her reaction and couldn't help but smile. He leaned his head down near her cheek and gave Hermione a gentle kiss. He then leaned down next to her right ear and slowly began to whisper into it.  
  
"I wish I could greet you properly, but I can hardly move."  
  
"It's okay," she replied softly, "I understand."  
  
Suddenly they heard the Infirmary's doors open and were surprised at the crowd standing there. Standing proudly, despite his wounds, Sirocco headed up the group. To his left and right was his wife and son. Harry was surprised to see Salavan being supported by another Elf; usually Salavan was too proud, like his father, to accept help. To their right and left was Ron, Lavender, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny.  
  
Behind them was Dumbledore, Professors MacGonagal (sp?), Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick. The Professors, except for the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, were turned around, barring someone's entrance. What the three didn't know was that the Professors were fighting off the Press. The Infirmary's doors shut tight behind the small group, now minus Professors Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick.  
  
"No Angel," David sighed softly, "Of course, she wouldn't show up, she probably still hates me."  
  
Harry looked at his brother, confused.  
  
"Who's Angel?"  
  
David sighed and looked over at his brother.  
  
"Angel, Angel Skies was my girlfriend before I...changed."  
  
"And who said I wasn't now?" a unfamiliar voice asked out, as someone appeared from behind Dumbledore.  
  
"Angel!?" David cried out, joy radiated from his very being like an invisible aura that could be felt.  
  
A young woman with long silvery blonde hair and sky blue eyes nodded only once before she ran over to him. She looked him in the eyes; her own filling up with tears. Suddenly she nodded, only once, and then punched him in the gut. David, who had been expecting something other than a shot to the gut, doubled over as the air vacated his lungs.  
  
"What...*wheeze*...was that for?" David gasped out.  
  
"Just felt like it," Angel replied with a grin, teasing him.  
  
"You know, I think your parents were way off when they named you," David stated, also teasing, "You act more like a devil than an angel."  
  
Suddenly the sound of someone clearing their throat caught the two of them off guard. The two's heads snapped around to stare at Dumbledore like he had just appeared out of nowhere.  
  
"Do you two think you can tell us just what happened after Miss Granger left you, unwillingly, in the crumbling fortress?" Dumbledore asked the two remaining Potters.  
  
Harry's eyes flashed with numerous emotions, but only for a split second. Suddenly he looked to be decades older than he really was. He and David exchanged a pensive look and then David turned to speak.  
  
"What we are about to tell you is hard for us to explain," David began to speak softly.  
  
"Some of the things we saw in there could give anyone, even Dumbledore, nightmares for the rest of his or her life," Harry elaborated with a depressed look in his eyes, "What we saw was beyond anything in this world. We saw rebirth, the afterlife, the creation of life and the horrors of death... Well, to put it simply, we saw everything..." 


	36. The Alpha and the Omega Part I

Disclaimer: I do not own the following: Harry Potter, Escaflowne, Legend of Dragoon, the book: 'Rhapsody', Lord of The Rings, Princess Mononoke, or any of their characters. I do not own the concept of 'the Alpha and the Omega', don't know who does, but it ain't me...-Can you own something like that or is it unownable? 

No "Order of The Phoenix" events included.

Placed during the interval between the brothers going inside of the Heart of Darkness and Red's appearance

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Mayday to all fans of the Final Fantasy VIII game. I'm major stuck! Okay, I defeated Seifer, but when I face off against Adel, I get creamed every time! Someone please help me out here!

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Reply to Reviewers:

Purple-Starz83: thanks for the review. Oh and yes, it has been a while since I posted a chapter, but little free time, a large writer's block, and academic suspension will cause that.

athenakitty: thanks for the review and don't worry about driving me buggy... I guess I wasn't having a good day when I wrote my reply to your review... Anyways, I can understand that you got a little confused, I got that way just writing the chapter. Ok...to answer your first question, Harry woke up like a normal person would wake up from unconsciousness. Question number next's answer, Harry's brother is alive because he was just knocked out by Hermione...remember? Oh, and thanks for the correct spelling of Professor McGonagal.

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A big shout-out to Ultra Violet Catastrophie! Thanks a lot for the huge help you were for this chapter! I really needed the help and I hope you will help me in the future!

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Sound  
Actions while speaking  
"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
(Memory/Flashback)  
/"Magic Voice"/

Chapter Thirty-Six The Alpha and Omega-Part I

Stepping into that room was like stepping through a veil of pure evil. It made their bodies burn with pain, but that didn't stop either of them. As they stood in front of the Heart of Darkness, its dark glow become more pronounced, as if gloating its victory. Harry and David exchanged looks; the battle was nowhere near over yet.

"My sword was forged with a flame of darkness," David stated softly, "Your sword was forged with a flame of light. It is the only sword here that can destroy the Heart of Darkness."

"No," Harry replied with great difficulty, for he dreaded the loss of the familiar weight of his swords, "Gryffindor's sword is still in its sheathe. You can use it to help me destroy this thing of darkness once and for all."

"Together to the end, huh, brother?" David asked with a grin.

"To the end and to the beginning," Harry replied with the same grin and unsheathed the Gryffindor Sword, "As a great man I know once said 'To the well organized mind, death is merely the beginning of another adventure.'"

"Then let us begin our journey to the next adventure," David stated as he took the sword from Harry, "We sacrifice our lives for the future of everyone else."

"For the future of the children I shall never know!" Harry cried, referring to the twins that rested within Hermione's womb, and raised his sword into the air in a salute.

"To the life, and family, I shall never know!" David cried out and also raised his sword in salute, "Let our blood flow strong with our fate! Let our swords be mighty and our wings quick! And let the Draconian Kings of before lend us the swiftness of wings!"

With that long battle cry, the two launched forward, sinking into the Heart of Darkness, which had to be destroyed from the inside out.

> > > > > > > > >

Harry fell, for what seemed like forever, through the endless darkness. As he fell, it felt like layers of him was being slowly stripped off one at a time. Stripped off until he was sure that all that was left of him was a falling skeleton with green eyes, black hair, wearing glasses, and holding a sword. Finally he slammed into a hard surface, the ground perhaps, and slipped into the cooling effect of unconsciousness.

When he awoke, Harry felt as if he had slept for years and maybe he had, for he had changed a great deal.

"Lumos," he muttered, looking down at his body.

He realized that everything, with the exception of his shirt, was there once more. He noticed that he had changed from what he used to look like to something short of body builder; his body was no longer that of a sixteen year old, but that of a really ripped Fighter. His skin was-in a word-flawless...there was not a scar visible on his body...

'Is it still there?' Harry wondered and slowly reached a shaking hand up to his forehead.

He felt the smooth blankness of unmarred skin all across his forehead. He let out a yelp of joy as he realized that his lightning bolt scar was no longer there. His eyes...he wasn't wearing his glasses and he could still see perfectly! He felt like he was on top of the world, but the only thing that bothered him right then was the thought of not knowing how Hermione and the twins were doing.

Suddenly it struck him...David! Harry looked all around him and not once did he catch a glimpse of his older brother. Harry began to panic slightly; David was the only member of his family left and his only brother, so Harry had a right to panic. Harry swivelled around and around, looking in every direction and still...nothing...

Harry finally just decided that he would pick a direction and start looking for David or the way out, whichever came first... But hopefully he would find David first and then the exit. As much as he wanted to get out of the darkness, Harry knew his brother was more important. Suddenly more darkness filled his world as his wand went out all on its own and Harry sensed the presence of a 'few' dark minds.

He picked up his wand, and the only sword he had with him, which was his Draconian King Sword, cast the 'lumos' spell once more with his wand, and cautiously started forward. It was pitch black all around him and nothing seemed to be in every direction. Suddenly he heard the familiar voice of his brother cry out in pain. Harry ran in that direction for what seemed like forever and thought he would be doing exactly that-running for forever-until he saw a pinprick of light that wasn't coming from his wand.

Harry was shocked at what he saw once he had reached the light. His brother was standing there in the center of the light. He was bleeding from several wounds and the sword he had borrowed from Harry was lying on the ground. He was fiercely fighting what seemed to be thin air. As Harry came closer, he noticed that the light was coming from a Magic Staff.

"David!"

David whirled around at his name, surprised to hear Harry's familiar voice. His eyes widened considerably at the sight of Harry standing there; David was completely unchanged. Suddenly something attacked them both and both of them fought at the shadows that were trying to kill them. The light that came from the Staff pulsed, filling the entire area with light for a few moments; those moments were long enough for Harry and David to see that their attackers were actually shadow creatures. The light pulsed again and the shadow creatures screamed in pain.

"Looks like light hurts them!" David cried out the obvious and pulled out his wand.

"LUMOS MAXIMUS!" both he and Harry screamed out together.

Their wands light up really brightly, as well as the other source of light, filling the entire area with light. The creatures shrieked out as they were torn apart as the bright rays of light touched them. Soon it was just the two of them once more. They ended the spell and grinned at each other.

The light receded from the floating Staff. The staff was dark blue, had a clear crystal on the top of it, and Ravens adorned the golden plating on the sides of the staff. Harry reached down, picked it up, and was brutally shocked. He tried to let go of the staff, but it was like it had been super-glued to his hand.

/"You are not my heir,"/ a feminine voice spoke out calmly in Harry's mind.

'And you are?' Harry asked with a growl, not liking having someone in his mind without his permission.

/"I am Rowena Ravenclaw./

'So, if I am not your heir, then why are you in my mind!'

/"You are linked to her... For now I will let you keep this, but you must promise me a Wizard's Oath that you will give it to her."/

'Who is your heir?' Harry asked out in his mind.

/"She is of fair importance to you... She is someone you would willingly die for at any given moment... She is someone you would fight for and someone you love with all your heart,"/ the woman stated softly and the presence in Harry's mind receded.

Harry stared down at the Staff and was shocked to see a golden script that ran down one side, which said 'Rowena Ravenclaw'.

"I should've known," Harry muttered out once what Rowena had said about her heir had sunk in, "Hermione is the heir of Rowena Ravenclaw."

The two decided to head in the direction that Harry had been going for a while. Suddenly, the darkness started to thin and Harry and David were shocked to see a woman standing before them with a lit lantern.

"So you two decided to try and destroy this acursed thing as well," she said with a shake of her head, "Welcome to the Heart of Darkness's Dungeon."

"Dungeon?" Harry and David exclaimed together.

"Yes," the woman said with a sigh, "And the only way to get free is for someone not of the living and not of the dead to release you."

"How can someone be not alive and not dead at the same time?" David asked out with a groan.

"If I knew that do you think I would be here right now?" the woman growled out.

"And just who are you, anyway?" Harry cut in, suddenly pointing his wand at the woman, "Are you one of Voldemort's spies!"

The woman got extremely pissed off at Harry. "For your information!" she snapped out, "I am not that-that-thing's spy! If you must know, I am a Witch who severed ties with my family almost two decades ago! And do you know why I did this! It's because of what they and those idiots at the Ministry did to the man I love!"

"Ouch," David said with a whistle, "And I thought Harry was angry at the Ministry of Magic!"

"Harry!" the woman yelped out, "You don't mean Harry Potter!"

Harry's eyes narrowed. "What's the matter with my name?"

"Nothing! It's just that I've known your family since before Lily became a Potter," the woman replied with a sigh, "We were the best of friends, me and Lily... By the way, name's April."

"I'm David Potter," David stated with a sigh, "And this-as you already know-is my little brother, Harry Potter."

"Like I said, Potters," April stated coolly, "Welcome to the Heart of Darkness's Dungeon"

Inside the darkness, there was no sense of time... So they had no idea how long it had been since they had seen daylight.

"April?" Harry asked out after what seemed like an hour.

"Hmm?"

"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been stuck in here?"

"What year is it outside?"

"1997," David stated for him.

April's face drained off all color and she fell to the floor.

"1997-oh god! I've been gone for four years!"

"Four years?" David repeated, thinking outloud, and his eyes suddenly widened to the size of saucers, "You're April Black?"


End file.
